tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5446459997339046752024-03-12T19:11:00.631-10:00American Samoa & the Pacific Remote IslandsFollow the scientists and crew of the NOAA Ship Hi'ialakai as they head into the Pacific to explore the coral reef ecosystems of The Phoenix Islands, American Samoa and the The Line Islands.NOAA CREDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146478103110221996noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544645999733904675.post-79610861580427687932010-04-30T13:56:00.002-10:002010-05-03T10:39:20.464-10:00Back to HonoluluThe Hi'ialakai returned safely to port in Honolulu on Sunday, April 24 at 0800 bringing a very successful completion to HA1001, the 2010 Pacific RAMP expedition to Johnston Atoll, the Phoenix Islands, American Samoa, and the Line Islands. All told, we had the participation of 44 scientists from eight different research institutions and local and regional management organizations. We visited 13 islands, reefs, or banks and were once again amazed by the diversity of life found beneath the waves.<br /><br />In the days since the ship returned to port we have been offloading equipment and getting everything back to its rightful place, ready for our next expedition to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands in September of 2010. We want to thank everyone who followed along with our expedition and especially those of you who wrote in with your questions and comments. We hope that we have been able to answer most of them and look forward to hearing from you again on future expeditions.<br /><br />With that, we will sign off for now. As the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands expedition begins, we will host a new blog and will post the address both here and on the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Honolulu-HI/NOAA-Coral-Reef-Ecosystem-Division/70665966160?ref=ts">CRED FaceBook page</a> where you can follow-along with all of the most up-to-date information on our program.NOAA CREDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146478103110221996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544645999733904675.post-2213140838720524852010-04-22T18:14:00.016-10:002010-04-22T22:44:52.998-10:00Perspectives Of Underwater Flight: Towed-Diver Surveys Around The Line Islands<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">By Jake Asher and Molly Timmers
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt9iibm91yc9M-jKIXlTxaRw-32LTyutGiyqLLpXb9_d-ph2PDmG_6K_OtNNdUbY9JRqs_EkWqhUPjSY_im5YKyt9Yr8fYA5LnR8IgYQ8doi42raOwIDV8w6BrMUrqEavHOk1IbqW3AS8/s1600/Towboarder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt9iibm91yc9M-jKIXlTxaRw-32LTyutGiyqLLpXb9_d-ph2PDmG_6K_OtNNdUbY9JRqs_EkWqhUPjSY_im5YKyt9Yr8fYA5LnR8IgYQ8doi42raOwIDV8w6BrMUrqEavHOk1IbqW3AS8/s400/Towboarder.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Towed-diver Kevin Lino surveys the fish of Jarvis Island</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">How can scientists get a better sense of what’s living on the bottom or swimming above coral reefs on an island-wide scale? Detailed surveys examining benthic and fish assemblages at specific sites are one way; however, if you're interested in a fast, effective, and extensive method for assessing and monitoring coral reef health over a large spatial scale, towed-diver surveys are for you. <br /> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The towed-diver survey methodology is a unique and integrated data collection method for mesoscale assessment of benthic coral reef habitats. The method utilizes SCUBA divers pulled behind a small boat at depth, covering enormous areas of terrain each day, sometimes surveying close to 18 hectares (18 kilometers x 10 meter survey swath). Multiply that out over a 30-day cruise and you can imagine what the towed-diver team sees!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXp7tF1Gd9utaQBAQrbzjvvZ5Boeb7XwKHhjM04HEUX5OiusXF4Mfa_cLf2SQxZoDI3QARzibsUil17zZ8za48wR5A48MX21OWIPpukuT4SXw-khYLd66U_V6NPa-ggCB0-McVydZNUuI/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXp7tF1Gd9utaQBAQrbzjvvZ5Boeb7XwKHhjM04HEUX5OiusXF4Mfa_cLf2SQxZoDI3QARzibsUil17zZ8za48wR5A48MX21OWIPpukuT4SXw-khYLd66U_V6NPa-ggCB0-McVydZNUuI/s400/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Towed-diver forward-facing view; top panel; Typical photograph from the benthic towed-diver.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">What’s on a towed-diver board? Benthic divers have a bottom-mounted camera that collects still photographs of the benthic habitat every 15 seconds, while fish divers have a video camera that records forward-facing video for the duration of the 50-minute survey. Temperature and depth are recorded every 5 seconds throughout the survey (cylinder on the left side). Gauges/timers tell the diver how long the divers have been down for, how deep they are, and sound a 5-minute alarm when each survey segment is completed. Finally, both benthic and fish observations are tallied on the datasheet located on the right-hand side of the board.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Towed-divers
typically fly around the entire forereef perimeter of the smaller
islands, and stagger their surveys along larger ones. In some cases,
divers also survey backreef or lagoon habitats (e.g. at atolls) or
terraces.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Towed-diver observational data can be processed
relatively quickly in order to get a general picture of what the reefs
are comprised of (e.g. hard and soft coral cover, stressed coral, algae,
etc.) and what fishes are present, while the processing of
photographic and video data sets occurs back in the lab in Honolulu.
Given the spatial extent of surveys conducted on this cruise, It would
be impossible to convey everything recorded thus far; however, here are a
few of the benthic highlights from each of the island ecosystems:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Jarvis Island</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-size: small;">Jarvis was largely dominated island-wide by the
species of hard coral <i>Montipora aequituberculata.</i></span><i><span style="font-size: small;"></span></i><span style="font-size: small;"></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">The west side has an extensive population of </span><i><span style="font-size: small;">
Sinularia</span></i><span style="font-size: small;"> (soft coral) found nowhere else around the island, extending ~
300 meters north-south at the 50 foot survey depth, and covering nearly
100% of the bottom. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Live, branching </span><span style="font-size: small;"><i></i></span><i><span style="font-size: small;">Pocillopora</span><span style="font-size: small;"></span></i><span style="font-size: small;"></span><span style="font-size: small;"> and </span><span style="font-size: small;"><i></i></span><i><span style="font-size: small;">Acropora</span><span style="font-size: small;"></span></i><span style="font-size: small;"></span><span style="font-size: small;"> coral
fragments were found along the south-facing shore, suggesting a recent
weather/wave event.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">All macroinvertebrates (crown-of-thorns sea stars,
sea cucumbers, giant clams, urchins) counts were low. While the reasons
for this remain unclear, potential causes include predation pressures
or lack of suitable benthic habitat. </span></li>
</ul>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH1yU-tavQyAqeetOCy9teYZ6CrAY3yvtJcset08n8AzP1UKU30KLwZlU5rCGta-KjZbUpMeeMH5d57utovp-UHYn3PV5UuHBmZ8Hztyt5_IpSL-9iddspcQq4kxObwh-yTGICZYL6WMk/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH1yU-tavQyAqeetOCy9teYZ6CrAY3yvtJcset08n8AzP1UKU30KLwZlU5rCGta-KjZbUpMeeMH5d57utovp-UHYn3PV5UuHBmZ8Hztyt5_IpSL-9iddspcQq4kxObwh-yTGICZYL6WMk/s400/2.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Images obtained from towed-diver surveys of Jarvis Island: <i>Montipora
aequituberculata </i>, left panel; </span><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Sinularia</span></i><span style="font-size: x-small;"> dominance on the western side of the island,
upper right panel; Broken </span><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pocillopora</span></i><span style="font-size: x-small;"> colonies, lower right pane<span style="font-size: small;">l</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Palmyra Atoll</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-size: small;">While towed-diver surveys recorded localized
proliferation of a number of hard coral genera, the majority of benthic
segments were dominated by a species of </span><i><span style="font-size: small;">Porites</span></i><span style="font-size: small;"> along the forereef and
western terrace.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Low levels of bleaching were observed within numerous genera around Palmyra; additional analysis of towed-diver photographs
will further explore the extent of coral bleaching around the atoll..</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Visible macroinvertebrates (crown-of-thorns sea
stars, sea cucumbers, giant clams, urchins) were nearly
absent from our surveys. </span></li>
</ul>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh99vbsmv3su_NoUSDZMCOtUdZX3Q6l1k7QS8kzhYO1aBSK0j3EZ8eGqwoi90ne8UBEmtLy-E4ucJOQBiB0KDsc3nDmQI9G0WdX3w5708RX83TLJGP2gIDrmftdPV567Xv9z6VReMIJwK8/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh99vbsmv3su_NoUSDZMCOtUdZX3Q6l1k7QS8kzhYO1aBSK0j3EZ8eGqwoi90ne8UBEmtLy-E4ucJOQBiB0KDsc3nDmQI9G0WdX3w5708RX83TLJGP2gIDrmftdPV567Xv9z6VReMIJwK8/s400/3.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Images obtained from towed-diver surveys of Palmyra Atoll. Partially bleached coral, left panel; forereef, left side; the forereef benthic and fish community, upper right panel; </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />Missing macroinvertebrates, lower right pane<span style="font-size: small;">l</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Kingman Reef</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-size: small;">Hard and soft coral cover varied between habitats, and varied depending upon depth and exposure to wave energy. However, overall hard coral cover for all pooled surveys was nearly identical as all pooled surveys around Palmyra.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">The southeastern backreef continues to harbor the highest concentration of giant clams (</span><i><span style="font-size: small;">Tridacna spp.</span></i><span style="font-size: small;">) of anywhere we surveys around the Pacific. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">The east-side backreef adjacent to the shipwreck showed a dramatic increase in cyanobacteria at 50’ – 60’ since the previous 2008 surveys, along with the presence of a fish aggregation device (FAD) not seen before. </span></li>
</ul>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjrvhFCsNZycozftOyS1uFpBedYerMVM9jrHVe9iwpdAo70Icn-qETda5HQHVevRYJM-3i-ucRqlmMRskJmRYrqYzxFl5-WfxpPJILTk_MgrtcbAaq7Lp8L8in4DKI7Wmwj60wlhtTmTA/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjrvhFCsNZycozftOyS1uFpBedYerMVM9jrHVe9iwpdAo70Icn-qETda5HQHVevRYJM-3i-ucRqlmMRskJmRYrqYzxFl5-WfxpPJILTk_MgrtcbAaq7Lp8L8in4DKI7Wmwj60wlhtTmTA/s400/4.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Images obtained from towed-diver surveys of Kingman Reef. </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fish Aggregation Device (FAD) seen from below, left panel; Cyanobacteria bloom near the
shipwreck , middle panel; </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Giant Clams along the southeastern backreef, right panel</span></td></tr>
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</div>NOAA CREDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14258691950853083756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544645999733904675.post-44036682004148931422010-04-20T14:23:00.009-10:002010-04-20T15:27:12.849-10:00Questions related to "Predator Dominated Reefs"<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> We have received some great questions pertaining to the April 6th blog post entitled "Predator Dominated Reefs". It's always good to know people are intrigued and interested in our research; please feel free to keep the questions coming!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Question 1: How will global warming impact Jarvis Island?</i><br /><br />Response by Jason Helyer, Coral Reef Specialist</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br />This is a great question, but a difficult one to provide a straight forward answer for. Some researchers believe that the cold, nutrient-rich waters that bathe the west side of Jarvis (see blog post “Questions pertaining to the Oceanography of Jarvis Island” regarding upwelling at Jarvis) may provide biological communities at Jarvis protection from climate change associated impacts. In other words, if adjacent ocean temperatures rise, the waters around Jarvis may remain cooler thanks to upwelling associated with the EUC. This cooler water could provide protection to corals at Jarvis from bleaching from rising sea surface temperatures associated with global warming. But this is just a thought shared by some scientists and we really do not know how the oceanographic conditions around Jarvis might change with a changing climate. For example, if the EUC changed as a result of a changing climate, either weakening or deepening, the effects at Jarvis could be substantial as the impact of the current on the oceanographic conditions at Jarvis is a dominant feature structuring the reef community. This uncertainty makes it difficult to answer large questions about how systems might change from global warming and is one of the main reasons why it is important to monitor both biological and physical processes at these remote reefs. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Question 2: In reference to your post that "Jarvis has about 300 times more predatory fish biomass than the entire island of Oahu." What are the factors that reduce the predatory fish volumes in Oahu?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Response to this question as well as the following are by </span><span style="font-size: small;">Brian Zgliczynski,
Fish Biologist</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">There are multiple factors that negatively impact populations of predatory fishes. They include fisheries extraction, pollution, and habitat loss. However, fisheries extraction has been shown to have the most deleterious effect on the abundance and biomass of predatory fishes globally. Artisanal, commercial, and recreational fisheries typically target large-bodied commercially-valuable fishes that play an important role in structuring marine ecosystems. As large-bodied species are removed from the system the abundance and biomass of large-bodied predatory species available in the system is reduced. <br /><br /><i>Question 3: Does illegal fishing occur in the waters around Jarvis and what impact does it have on the trophic pyramid? </i><br /><br />Jarvis is one of the most remote and isolated islands under U.S. jurisdiction. This geographic isolation affords Jarvis some protection from anthropogenic disturbances including fisheries. However, this same geographic isolation makes Jarvis potentially vulnerable to illegal fishing activities. As fish populations near inhabited coastal areas are reduced, the threat of commercial fisheries moving offshore to exploit resources at remote and uninhabited islands like Jarvis can become a reality. Fortunately, Jarvis has been designated as a National Marine Monument and is managed and protected under U.S. law out to the 50 nautical mile boundary. This designation provides the necessary legal protection and technologies are being developed to monitor and enforce the Monument boundaries. To date, we have not observed any signs of illegal fishing activities during our biennial reef assessment and monitoring efforts. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Question 4: </i></span><i>How does the percentage of predatory biomass at Jarvis compare to Cocos
Islands and other areas with high levels of predatory biomass? </i><br />
<br />
Having conducted similar surveys throughout the tropical Pacific
including Cocos Island (Costa Rica), the predatory biomass densities
observed at Jarvis are among the highest. Additionally, all of the sites
where predatory species are abundant display similar inverted trophic
pyramids with predatory species accounting for the largest proportion of
total fish biomass.</div>
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</div>NOAA CREDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14258691950853083756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544645999733904675.post-11591585162790935972010-04-20T12:54:00.003-10:002010-04-20T14:37:49.527-10:00Questions pertaining to "The Oceanography of Jarvis Island"We received a question by Reille related to the blog post entitled "The Oceanography of Jarvis Island" written by Jamison Gove on 3-April-2010.<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Response by Jamison Gove, Oceanographer and Chief
Scientist of the current
expedition</span><br />
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Great questions Riell! I'll do my best to answer them appropriately, but if you would like more detail on the oceanographic conditions at Jarvis Island, see Gove et al (2006) <i>Temporal variability of current-driven upwelling at Jarvis Island </i><br />
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<i>Question 1: You mention that "few places on the planet have the oceanographic and coral reef environment that is found at Jarvis" could you tell me what other places in the Pacific have both the oceanographic features and the high-productivity coral reef that Jarvis does?</i><br />
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Due to the remote nature of the central equatorial Pacific, I imagine there may be a few islands that have similar ecosystem dynamics as those observed at Jarvis; however, it is the particular location and shape of Jarvis Island which facilitates its oceanographic and biological uniqueness, and when combined with limited human presence over the past half-century, it remains a rarity. <br />
<br />
<i>Question 2: I guess something similar happens around the Galapagos and that is a result of the Cromwell Current, as well, but how does the situation there compare to the oceanographic conditions at Jarvis? </i><br />
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They two island ecosystems are comparable as the Equatorial Undercurrent (a.k.a. Cromwell Current) fuels the high productivity at both the Galapagos and Jarvis. That being said, fundamentally different physical oceanographic dynamics occur between the two ecosystems. At the latitude of Jarvis Island, the EUC is flowing incredibly fast for an open ocean current (~1 meter/second) at a depth of 100-150 meters. When this fast moving, subsurface current interacts with Jarvis it results in a cessation of flow, and due to pressure differences, isotherms (lines of equal temperature) are forced vertically upward to the near surface. This island-current interaction driving upwelling is a result of Bernoulli dynamics, which happens to be the very same physical mechanism which gives airplane wings lift. <br />
<br />
Due to the upward tilt of the EUC and the thermocline from west to east across the Pacific (see figure below), the EUC is near the surface (0 – 50 meters) at the latitude of the Galapagos Islands. As such, the Galapagos are surrounded by nutrient-rich waters. The productivity at the Galapagos is also enhanced (and therefore my explanation confounded) by natural iron input associated with the geological make-up of the Galapagos Islands, but that’s another question best left for another time. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGyOJcgH_ImoZUAhr-qNgx5y54LEtyTxPw_CQpttMdBTH70PTGG6BBOqRAaZ5agyCbF4Nx3BCoLGew4Ajv9OwzDV11BMZSkHuxTHFU-5XqIdHR7hzYP1e6W9hbmHOmhoI-QgoTPZfVEY4/s1600/Picture2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGyOJcgH_ImoZUAhr-qNgx5y54LEtyTxPw_CQpttMdBTH70PTGG6BBOqRAaZ5agyCbF4Nx3BCoLGew4Ajv9OwzDV11BMZSkHuxTHFU-5XqIdHR7hzYP1e6W9hbmHOmhoI-QgoTPZfVEY4/s400/Picture2.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Side view of the equatorial Pacific showing the Equatorial Undercurrent flowing east along the thermocline. Note the upward tilt of the EUC from the western to the eastern Pacific. Colors indicate relative temperature, with warmer temperatures shown in red and cooler temperatures in blue. Figure modified from http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/</td></tr>
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<i>Question 3: I wonder -- does the size of the island result in differences between one side and the other; does the upwelling affect all sides equally?</i><br />
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The upwelling at Jarvis only occurs to the western side of the island, principally due to the fact that the EUC is an eastward flowing current. Surprisingly, there can be a 1-3 ºC difference between the western side of the island and the eastern side (see figure below). Given that Jarvis is only 4 x 2 kilometers, this is a rather substantial gradient in temperature over a very short distance.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijYKW4YyQI3632RCbg9uHgqAGnsQtgp784SUjv7k9cZ63LyYpKm638fm4JqlPqUNwq-kLgYmUSz5I79kSB0PLBr58pdv8537hUUQCwkFd-AtbRpWk_ziaUU6ZaXhh97dAklFEHyILje1c/s1600/Figure3_ctdinterp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijYKW4YyQI3632RCbg9uHgqAGnsQtgp784SUjv7k9cZ63LyYpKm638fm4JqlPqUNwq-kLgYmUSz5I79kSB0PLBr58pdv8537hUUQCwkFd-AtbRpWk_ziaUU6ZaXhh97dAklFEHyILje1c/s320/Figure3_ctdinterp.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Temperature at 25 meters depth around Jarvis obtained from near shore conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) casts (locations indicated by triangles). Note the 2.5 degree Celsius difference between the western side and all other sides of the island. Figure taken from Gove et al., 2006. </td></tr>
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<i>Question 4: Also, could you briefly describe what kind of seasonal variation you see, or variation in El Niño years, and whether you've yet observed organism behavioral adaptations in relation to any variation?</i><br />
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There is definitely seasonal and interannual variability in upwelling at Jarvis. Seasonally, the strongest upwelling at Jarvis occurs during northern hemisphere spring, due to a locally shallow thermocline and shallow and strong EUC. Year to year differences in upwelling are driven by the strength of the trade winds in the western Pacific and their impacts on flow of the EUC; intensified trade winds associated with La Niña conditions favor the shoaling and strengthening of the EUC at Jarvis, and therefore strong upwelling, while a weakening of the trade winds results in a slackening and deepening of the EUC, diminishing or all together shutting down upwelling. Presumably, this variability would impact local fish and benthic coral reef communities; however, we have yet to analyze the data collected during the current El Niño to confirm this statement <br />
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</div>NOAA CREDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14258691950853083756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544645999733904675.post-44826144573730253512010-04-19T12:00:00.007-10:002010-04-19T22:25:37.680-10:00Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structure (ARMS): Recovery and Processing<span style="font-size: x-small;">By Molly Timmers and Russell Reardon </span> <br />
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<a href="http://asramp10.blogspot.com/2010/02/reef-biodiversity-introduction.html">‘Reef Biodiversity: an Introduction’</a> posted on the 4th of February introduced coral reef diversity and the Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structure (ARMS). This post will explore the recovery and processing of these platforms.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhFvEhC-cpOlwBbX5kHU5c1matr7MgNvZDGh0fuwXW_0OyvD4BEyd7Clvoj4Drjqp0eZyzBkApU95Qej6RfI4NsZQ3RMUrltbysCkv8HzK53-70hq17tjLoeipl-9jczBYs7klTq0uVBg/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhFvEhC-cpOlwBbX5kHU5c1matr7MgNvZDGh0fuwXW_0OyvD4BEyd7Clvoj4Drjqp0eZyzBkApU95Qej6RfI4NsZQ3RMUrltbysCkv8HzK53-70hq17tjLoeipl-9jczBYs7klTq0uVBg/s400/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ARMS awaiting removal on left, encapsulated ARMS on right</td></tr>
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An ARMS is a tool used to assess the lesser known and cryptic reef organisms. For the past two years, sessile and motile critters have been colonizing the open and closed ARMS layers. One of our missions on this cruise has been to recover all the previously deployed ARMS for immediate shipboard and subsequent land-based processing.<br />
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We remove the ARMS from the benthos by attaching a milk crate lined with an 80 micron mesh over the center stack of plates comprising the structure. A buoyed rope is then attached to the latching straps on the crate, and the whole unit is pulled to the surface. The milk crate ensures that any recruited organisms within the ARMS will not fall out during transport. Once on the surface and in the small boat, the milk crate encapsulated ARMS is placed within seawater-filled bins and transported back to the Hi‘ialakai. <br />
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Back on the ship, the ARMS is disassembled within a tub of seawater. The milk crate is detached, and each layer (plate) is removed individually. The top and bottom of each plate is photographed to document the sessile organisms. Once photographed, a paint brush is used to lightly sweep any motile organisms off the plates and into a bucket of seawater. The plates are then placed in ethanol to preserve the DNA for future molecular processing. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihXi3AJgufqKlIX6T07NJm_hRV7bjoTlUoqqZD8PaBhKI2Tfd6PsmN4RvuIXMpDxT2P95ZHKVaBFkk7DibdTAlDtCK9VZldXAliP8V9AvwBHy0LLEL1pz-fnwxUk3GATBNZtfI6SK25ck/s1600/2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihXi3AJgufqKlIX6T07NJm_hRV7bjoTlUoqqZD8PaBhKI2Tfd6PsmN4RvuIXMpDxT2P95ZHKVaBFkk7DibdTAlDtCK9VZldXAliP8V9AvwBHy0LLEL1pz-fnwxUk3GATBNZtfI6SK25ck/s320/2.JPG" width="319" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An example of a plate photograph</td></tr>
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Once every layer has been photographed, brushed, and preserved, all of the buckets of seawater used during the processing are sieved into the following bins: 5 mm, 2 mm, 500 ?m, and 100 ?m. The contents from the 2 mm, 500 ?m, and 100 ?m sieves are bulked and placed immediately into ethanol. Selected critters found within the 5 mm sieve are photographed, identified, and preserved individually while the remaining 5 mm organisms are bulked and placed in ethanol. <br />
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The final task is to scrape the sessile organisms from the all the plates. The scrapings are bulked and preserved. In this manner, we are able to remove, preserve, and store all of the sessile and motile organisms that have recruited to the ARMS.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggzmw9NN3PA5sz0BkqK1ZhxKFJ-937aEC_dII2EGna396WE2R8Y4YdVL5UA2zaCZezCb61uS9pHBlvSMHkKHE-mdVq9YjXi9VF8q1pDjKjr8p8MEDIAtjww4r76WYF5gq3F9j4adZzbrg/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggzmw9NN3PA5sz0BkqK1ZhxKFJ-937aEC_dII2EGna396WE2R8Y4YdVL5UA2zaCZezCb61uS9pHBlvSMHkKHE-mdVq9YjXi9VF8q1pDjKjr8p8MEDIAtjww4r76WYF5gq3F9j4adZzbrg/s400/3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ARMS processing in action. Upper left, disassembling; lower right, brushing;<br />
middle, photography; lower right, sieving; upper right, scraping.</td></tr>
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When we return to land, the contents will be sent to our partners at the Smithsonian, the Florida Museum of Natural History, and the Hawaiian Institute for Marine Biology who will begin the molecular processing and taxonomic archiving. Genetic sequencing will provide a relative index of diversity for each of our survey sites. We will then be able to compare these indices among and between sites, islands, and regions. Ultimately, this process may allow us to detect and monitor changes in cryptic diversity in an effort to understand ecosystem shifts overtime.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXPWynXqR2Fn7nhfw0iINfWEqj3zWEGNPEkG3xyV18C1HQ-7GJnXnQJ02yuinF9Z_zXh1hiy1aHVZf2Jm21A1ILVkJkRiSBgziaxmg-mUe36d7iW56fhLNVmTEJbO7m_KS2SwdgAVXdUY/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXPWynXqR2Fn7nhfw0iINfWEqj3zWEGNPEkG3xyV18C1HQ-7GJnXnQJ02yuinF9Z_zXh1hiy1aHVZf2Jm21A1ILVkJkRiSBgziaxmg-mUe36d7iW56fhLNVmTEJbO7m_KS2SwdgAVXdUY/s400/4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Examples of invertebrates found within the ARMS</td></tr>
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</div>NOAA CREDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14258691950853083756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544645999733904675.post-35636590721605987202010-04-17T09:33:00.000-10:002010-04-17T09:33:18.036-10:00Kingman Reef<div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> By Kerry Grimshaw</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kingman Reef from above</td></tr>
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We have arrived last stop for this expedition, Kingman Reef. Located nearly halfway between American Samoa and Hawaii (1700 km/1056 mi), Kingman is the northernmost reef of the Line Islands. First discovered by Captain Edmund Fanning in 1798 it was later described in 1953 by the island’s namesake Captain W.E. Kingman. Other pre-twentieth century names for Kingman include Danger Reef, Cladew Reef, Maria Shoal and Crane Shoal. In 1856 Kingman Reef under the name “Danger Reef” was claimed by the US as part of the Guano Islands Act. Kingman was later formally annexed 1922 as an unincorporated U.S. possession of the United States.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-PVQ2GT-60z4GGntzrHW05kpXXzmO1vvlcPhXjGRWFkqBzjoQ_fkFdBhut1A59zWoLfSS43wlgK0j0Lv3ymvM8AKnPh0QtCZIRxvjx19j4-uP6lulp_9DsD_Xbz4geQ8tXWEDL4tu4gQ/s1600/800px-Kingman_Reef_Oct_2003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-PVQ2GT-60z4GGntzrHW05kpXXzmO1vvlcPhXjGRWFkqBzjoQ_fkFdBhut1A59zWoLfSS43wlgK0j0Lv3ymvM8AKnPh0QtCZIRxvjx19j4-uP6lulp_9DsD_Xbz4geQ8tXWEDL4tu4gQ/s200/800px-Kingman_Reef_Oct_2003.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The only emergent land at Kingman; a narrow <br />strip of coral rubble and coarse sand</td></tr>
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The lagoon at Kingman Reef was used as a halfway stop for Pan American Airways flying boats in 1937 and 1938 for flights between Hawai’i, American Samoa, and New Zealand. To facilitate this overnight stop a supply ship was stationed at Kingman to provide fuel, lodging and meals. After a fatal explosion shortly after take off from Pago Pago in January 1938, Pan Am stopped flights to New Zealand via Kingman Reef and Pago Pago. A new route was later established through Canton Island and New Caledonia. In 1941 the US Navy assumed control of Kingman and maintained its jurisdiction until 2000. Kingman Reef was established as a National Wildlife Refuge on January 18, 2001. On January 6, 2009 Kingman Reef was designated as part of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A cluster of Giant Clams (<i>Tridacna maxima </i>) <br />at Kingman Reef</td></tr>
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Kingman Reef is an uninhabited, triangular shaped reef that is mostly submerged. A small, single strip of “dry land” composed of mainly of dead and dried coral skeletons, is located on the eastern rim of the reef. With the highest point of land at approximately 1 meter, the island is often awash during high tide and is inhospitable for most organisms. Despite the harsh surface conditions Kingman Reef supports a vast variety of marine life below. Approximately 130 species of corals are known at Kingman and giant clams are abundant in shallow waters. Predators dominate the waters at Kingman similarly to most of the uninhabited islands we visit. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oceanographer Chip Young surveys <br />the reef at Kingman</td></tr>
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We’ll be here for the next 6 days conducting our standard suite of work before beginning the transit home. <br />
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</div>NOAA CREDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14258691950853083756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544645999733904675.post-10788347104173372642010-04-15T19:56:00.001-10:002010-04-15T20:10:11.097-10:00Palmyra undwater<div style="text-align: center;">
We've spent the past 7 days conducting surveys and retrieving/deploying oceanographic instruments in the waters around Palmyra Atoll. Here are a few photos from below the water's surface:</div>
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<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458939993640191202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDDRFdXvscVkUjjkuxWYoLOYJ4HP7Hk_2KqS4Iy7i2bcwWB5dvLK0Rqq6yxKNVc2nAvLdqC-Ng3rMP8mOQhG8xq1DS9uztZQ2ZSN1PYI8mnfllTUxH9YISp00IbUzjj3Dr6yvDTKpoYpCc/s320/IMG_6860.jpg" style="display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" />The soft coral, <i>Sarcophyton sp.</i></div>
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<i> </i> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhczO8_hCJ29anqkWQFd3GNK00NiECu-mOWU84A6k7y5vXXtItdsxAL6sRX_DCttjKaLwDRwLAGdGeR9N2P2jNTVA4plgckBgWKkIb4XxpwXiMz67RMlVO6E8hMvBTVlNkvwSfNqEo0D-hC/s1600/IMG_6863.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458939991116495890" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhczO8_hCJ29anqkWQFd3GNK00NiECu-mOWU84A6k7y5vXXtItdsxAL6sRX_DCttjKaLwDRwLAGdGeR9N2P2jNTVA4plgckBgWKkIb4XxpwXiMz67RMlVO6E8hMvBTVlNkvwSfNqEo0D-hC/s320/IMG_6863.jpg" style="display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /> </a>Scientist Nichole Price conducts a Line </div>
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Point Intercept survey.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgodYpxR16I4epS_wPjdNWcHB4S_xzxDnKsTzwc-uqIl1KP8Gz7Lu8tv0zl3igsf8tsrovL24R05vTcU2Lz2HEob03wkJj3FjVvnoApXPRwRKqdL-tCamjts1HUmzGIpBwCwt-onYGBolA/s1600/PAL.Jamie+ADCP.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459883338197337506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgodYpxR16I4epS_wPjdNWcHB4S_xzxDnKsTzwc-uqIl1KP8Gz7Lu8tv0zl3igsf8tsrovL24R05vTcU2Lz2HEob03wkJj3FjVvnoApXPRwRKqdL-tCamjts1HUmzGIpBwCwt-onYGBolA/s320/PAL.Jamie+ADCP.jpg" style="display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 248px;" /></a> Oceanographer Jamison
Gove installs an Acoustic Doppler </div>
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Profiler and subsurface
temperature recorders.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjyffRRNO7YeS6794Akdyq7vdO544YLAayE32Jb7rMoq9dViaofg8jbmx2J-gyebq6Ubf-Vnf6rQ54WyCbWKBKNeDTihp7YUfbtU8jgZGe_um54YM2STAavAOs-sBGgefJh8r3pcm7me-s/s1600/IMG_7048.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458939983496903458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjyffRRNO7YeS6794Akdyq7vdO544YLAayE32Jb7rMoq9dViaofg8jbmx2J-gyebq6Ubf-Vnf6rQ54WyCbWKBKNeDTihp7YUfbtU8jgZGe_um54YM2STAavAOs-sBGgefJh8r3pcm7me-s/s320/IMG_7048.jpg" style="display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a> Layers and layers of corals! </div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi87h9i_-Pw-USbpDw0hM4Bi5S0FA8PcrMJu0Xat12nhIBPIYFdxKSQLT6i90rKanaS5DwHpmXXcFA1yjcOJOWg7Ta961-3eLSNB4DEwIYKbHf_gxbrR1zr0p343TDsiImZ9T5bZa6mwuYQ/s1600/IMG_7087.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458939976044658194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi87h9i_-Pw-USbpDw0hM4Bi5S0FA8PcrMJu0Xat12nhIBPIYFdxKSQLT6i90rKanaS5DwHpmXXcFA1yjcOJOWg7Ta961-3eLSNB4DEwIYKbHf_gxbrR1zr0p343TDsiImZ9T5bZa6mwuYQ/s320/IMG_7087.jpg" style="display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a>Sea slug (<i>Elysia ornata</i>). </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr6rYLgun7gW0v261Y57qFDe_dVc9wJlXrabMgO-a4o4B0ec-jEuS4ty3hr4lsahF4UC8rheXv_0MoTolcSN_XoV0BUMvoAxWvjEjnlgMdUoypNsTz12xtLo1p0lLvmof4juuf97tfVc2k/s1600/IMG_7117.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458939973410706018" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr6rYLgun7gW0v261Y57qFDe_dVc9wJlXrabMgO-a4o4B0ec-jEuS4ty3hr4lsahF4UC8rheXv_0MoTolcSN_XoV0BUMvoAxWvjEjnlgMdUoypNsTz12xtLo1p0lLvmof4juuf97tfVc2k/s320/IMG_7117.jpg" style="display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a> The camouflage grouper (<i>Epinephelus polyphekadion</i>).</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifwticG6LRxy2mMlh3n8O0rqJuJhyphenhyphen5Vz9BKs2ET8fCi7oQRXdj_iRgOR7Fqbk0GjzNT2ywzEZusfazRbPpttT4oIECzGF5Uf2aiV8MppUZ804d43Yf3-idN6C3bzjf_7tzt9uQRBF6IFQ/s1600/PAL.Chip+Russ+RAS.photo+Jamie%EF%80%A5.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459883347871521858" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifwticG6LRxy2mMlh3n8O0rqJuJhyphenhyphen5Vz9BKs2ET8fCi7oQRXdj_iRgOR7Fqbk0GjzNT2ywzEZusfazRbPpttT4oIECzGF5Uf2aiV8MppUZ804d43Yf3-idN6C3bzjf_7tzt9uQRBF6IFQ/s320/PAL.Chip+Russ+RAS.photo+Jamie%EF%80%A5.jpg" style="display: block; height: 237px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a>Oceanographers Chip Young and Danny Merritt </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
retrieve the Remote Automatic Sampler.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1U-MofIVneHEliXnaLN7n00tTIt-0nOI8F1-D6r_uwQ4drwB-PcSp6FvdB-OoBU1rlqfhMTDi1IK8zwGtsBXNR_d2XA-eAaCV4TfcDUX4WwNRndO9uMW3VacLCI4FNQpXjUSMR1QBxl1s/s1600/IMG_7128.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458933837892333426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1U-MofIVneHEliXnaLN7n00tTIt-0nOI8F1-D6r_uwQ4drwB-PcSp6FvdB-OoBU1rlqfhMTDi1IK8zwGtsBXNR_d2XA-eAaCV4TfcDUX4WwNRndO9uMW3VacLCI4FNQpXjUSMR1QBxl1s/s320/IMG_7128.jpg" style="display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a> Threadfin butterflyfish (<i>Chaetodon auriga</i>) swimming </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
over a carpet of invasive corallimorphs (<i>Rhodactis howesii</i>).</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyqyGGd-oU4MukGW6ahWwkXhd23F62_AjCGumieJ9L78XGMGoYwUtiZ0wYhdbVk_V-C1gzfWkvGwUcCrLTWkxRNzkwdejYMjPLH-O9fIwgxj88Cnd-TG2YlcQ-69ExSF8ESZtmCYMzQC_W/s1600/IMG_7162.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458933834864931122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyqyGGd-oU4MukGW6ahWwkXhd23F62_AjCGumieJ9L78XGMGoYwUtiZ0wYhdbVk_V-C1gzfWkvGwUcCrLTWkxRNzkwdejYMjPLH-O9fIwgxj88Cnd-TG2YlcQ-69ExSF8ESZtmCYMzQC_W/s320/IMG_7162.jpg" style="display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a>An<i> Acropora sp.</i> thicket in the coral gardens of Palmyra.</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSip5n3wgYCo5LyWBY7ZdkSTasmF3AjFcycp48EdWky9ONySyQbvFAQyyIOpVVem_8cavt6Gv8OwxHZkoLYqjZXlCbbkQVXZxplrW2e7P7dQ_dxJgCaEWSqxG5Eeobd39RAljQEKCtMFvZ/s1600/IMG_7186.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458933825818473490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSip5n3wgYCo5LyWBY7ZdkSTasmF3AjFcycp48EdWky9ONySyQbvFAQyyIOpVVem_8cavt6Gv8OwxHZkoLYqjZXlCbbkQVXZxplrW2e7P7dQ_dxJgCaEWSqxG5Eeobd39RAljQEKCtMFvZ/s320/IMG_7186.jpg" style="display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a> A school of convict tangs (<i>Acanthurus triostegus</i>) swoop in</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
to mow the algal lawns on this section of reef.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458933823304322354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhnX1h0a3r98FvwG8uvmOrzR6q3cRhFS380CgYeXW189NHQ4JrrSNgpmUDKO2reD4OdS3WqSH-B6di7Pekte5YoQ_SI_PRDEmAMtWEJ3WljtrFWXHJiXJfcTQFVytjNMSvtm59_Akq1xtu/s320/IMG_7194.jpg" style="display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 240px;" />An interesting and unusual formation of <i>Acropora sp.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3elSlTS1lZ1DDwp-nXjmiaZNfzqqRFhuEKus_Kneji7QJRt9Qv_PAwFSdY7xrMSfmaeTPX36N_qG6fj5xOtIea8rxFvjeJJOwN8DCPvlqXnIn_u0iQFrWxZz6w-DsJ22J232h6KrWrsOS/s1600/IMG_7172.jpg"><i><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458933805654323938" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3elSlTS1lZ1DDwp-nXjmiaZNfzqqRFhuEKus_Kneji7QJRt9Qv_PAwFSdY7xrMSfmaeTPX36N_qG6fj5xOtIea8rxFvjeJJOwN8DCPvlqXnIn_u0iQFrWxZz6w-DsJ22J232h6KrWrsOS/s320/IMG_7172.jpg" style="display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 240px;" /></i></a> <i>Acropora sp.</i> tables found on the western terrace.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTJTjSJr-GYuGLRy87rIlzUlcPQPija8qYf-wY2VLHxfLnBpjbSc4bf840g-vwX__ub_nI09P4fXRYWl2auTndblOC2jjqQxMzefcTDQtSr-ukEKLB_18iB_AoAHN3PSS53LXO1OshhEg/s1600/PAL.coral+gardens+blacktip.photo-hoeke.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459883345083736482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTJTjSJr-GYuGLRy87rIlzUlcPQPija8qYf-wY2VLHxfLnBpjbSc4bf840g-vwX__ub_nI09P4fXRYWl2auTndblOC2jjqQxMzefcTDQtSr-ukEKLB_18iB_AoAHN3PSS53LXO1OshhEg/s320/PAL.coral+gardens+blacktip.photo-hoeke.jpg" style="display: block; height: 242px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a> A blacktip reef shark (<i>Carcharhinus melanopterus</i>) cruising near the coral gardens.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1z651tSqZdhPdnWWwWruROUoxTrLGyHpT9UwPwdKNUEjEt3AhgbwkEUOSLk98lpUtBsZGtvolicPf8-xMBgoXAbpq23aMRQJUxeZwB7gIW4_7Z9NDCIWoYK3k2ni7JeR9LhaWuGhVOh8/s1600/PAL.inquisitive+bohar.photo-mancini.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459883329963805458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1z651tSqZdhPdnWWwWruROUoxTrLGyHpT9UwPwdKNUEjEt3AhgbwkEUOSLk98lpUtBsZGtvolicPf8-xMBgoXAbpq23aMRQJUxeZwB7gIW4_7Z9NDCIWoYK3k2ni7JeR9LhaWuGhVOh8/s320/PAL.inquisitive+bohar.photo-mancini.jpg" style="display: block; height: 233px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a>A curious Twin-spot Snapper (<i>Lutjanus bohar</i>) comes in for a
closer look</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
while oceanographer Jamison Gove installs a subsurface temperature recorder in the background.</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLvtzRGwKcu5oYVUdBmuI_si973YBzk7ovZVlKqJUkUx-CNiDn5gGUlKcRm-fT063VrsZ_lQuDP__0_3tKo5Js0_sMfRxpPmnCyi8TQ1iLrca1azCSyH5LqiE8qoBEE_33_fsj514tQvA/s1600/PAL.Napoleon.photo-hoeke.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459883324915111106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLvtzRGwKcu5oYVUdBmuI_si973YBzk7ovZVlKqJUkUx-CNiDn5gGUlKcRm-fT063VrsZ_lQuDP__0_3tKo5Js0_sMfRxpPmnCyi8TQ1iLrca1azCSyH5LqiE8qoBEE_33_fsj514tQvA/s320/PAL.Napoleon.photo-hoeke.jpg" style="display: block; height: 219px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a> A Napoleon Wrass (<i>Cheilinus undulatus</i>) swims by. </div>
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Here are a few of the critters we have found within the Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures around Palmyra:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy-Ic-70NK5mY3EBACEQ6c6LLXO6YVWQ8IsOSZnDYrg1M-Ypd2z3systfapJb1tUEdH2Ui55ebp8A7lnsFBT-UJCQu9pK3tfgm6kJuog1M_3fBlGbzwdjnhvoseGdENRHP09tnrO7wf_A/s1600/Portunid_11.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459892254226582178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy-Ic-70NK5mY3EBACEQ6c6LLXO6YVWQ8IsOSZnDYrg1M-Ypd2z3systfapJb1tUEdH2Ui55ebp8A7lnsFBT-UJCQu9pK3tfgm6kJuog1M_3fBlGbzwdjnhvoseGdENRHP09tnrO7wf_A/s320/Portunid_11.jpg" style="display: block; height: 210px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a> A swimmer crab (family Portunidae). </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo_KgfrgORErj4I2EcYMlq8BSkhzqmaUqWHRsUhoTjYhiukZ7Bsc0pvz1y651hExPSWyXbFvU8enjw1xLAouakX9sh02N89R2qE9vARujXKJtqLwqsCHtX7sAU-wwxDFqga3pHTFyVqBM/s1600/Terrebellid+Worm_2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459892249947028242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo_KgfrgORErj4I2EcYMlq8BSkhzqmaUqWHRsUhoTjYhiukZ7Bsc0pvz1y651hExPSWyXbFvU8enjw1xLAouakX9sh02N89R2qE9vARujXKJtqLwqsCHtX7sAU-wwxDFqga3pHTFyVqBM/s320/Terrebellid+Worm_2.jpg" style="display: block; height: 262px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a>A spaghetti worm (family Terebellidae).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBFY8BmFuqK85Eo31c_K31ZmMPGp233Ovc3l6qvofIHDgCNjPQgh_wvXyWuCWpcJaOS61xlpj9NJqrM4dMhI0Q2zgIHSb1jr7jWhhERhNpeud_40f5S4MilqOcoRVGga_8ZUAMXjn18dg/s1600/Cyprae+moneta.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459892238539073458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBFY8BmFuqK85Eo31c_K31ZmMPGp233Ovc3l6qvofIHDgCNjPQgh_wvXyWuCWpcJaOS61xlpj9NJqrM4dMhI0Q2zgIHSb1jr7jWhhERhNpeud_40f5S4MilqOcoRVGga_8ZUAMXjn18dg/s320/Cyprae+moneta.jpg" style="display: block; height: 186px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a>A money cowrie (<i>Cyprae moneta</i>).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDIWW20AjG9fbjH7YUc9ablp_7_0oOG0bEhkLfaZgYAmcDbBPYDmFjWstBEcRFoX23JRulHIi0gIhOWgfFsKeU1u2zTerHiefH5hQERBC2q2BCA3LzN22s_VuTKbeNzJneqCxBEpyOM6c/s1600/Amphimonidae_2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459892235115538818" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDIWW20AjG9fbjH7YUc9ablp_7_0oOG0bEhkLfaZgYAmcDbBPYDmFjWstBEcRFoX23JRulHIi0gIhOWgfFsKeU1u2zTerHiefH5hQERBC2q2BCA3LzN22s_VuTKbeNzJneqCxBEpyOM6c/s320/Amphimonidae_2.jpg" style="display: block; height: 144px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a>A fire worm (family Amphimonidae)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBu5P2UWpq9w_gqZCx89aS32RBcMwPwMcvLObobIQ9hO1kH2oNc2TYu_x5qL5NsgvSuy1olR8M1FkbIr_ZcMbY_cumw228tP7ZGYX18H6756FoMd-Msjvl4tHMRAnKVR1riWhiARDaSYk/s1600/Alpheid_7.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459892231534479362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBu5P2UWpq9w_gqZCx89aS32RBcMwPwMcvLObobIQ9hO1kH2oNc2TYu_x5qL5NsgvSuy1olR8M1FkbIr_ZcMbY_cumw228tP7ZGYX18H6756FoMd-Msjvl4tHMRAnKVR1riWhiARDaSYk/s320/Alpheid_7.jpg" style="display: block; height: 168px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a> A snapping shrimp (<i>Alpheus sp</i>.)</div>
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We have seen many interesting animals,both large and small, here at Palmyra Atoll. While always interesting it is time for us to continue on to the final destination of this expedition: Kingman Reef.</div>
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</div>NOAA CREDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14258691950853083756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544645999733904675.post-28905984212707361182010-04-13T10:55:00.001-10:002010-04-13T10:59:08.457-10:00Looking Above Water; Jarvis Island Revisited<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Written
by Chris Depkin, photographs by Jiny Kim</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlRjl3MgCR6P7iDGYH5EySFf_Y9d5Ph64K__1dSPFypOSaN12z4dhGhIgoSq5Leh0GM-3coEf0A4wJ8rKjM6XVUBOGkLrAJN612fqVUfvVXvw9QW0MVdTo4BOduhackfurwebDPig8u_s/s1600/Chris+Depkin+and+Sooty+Terns.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlRjl3MgCR6P7iDGYH5EySFf_Y9d5Ph64K__1dSPFypOSaN12z4dhGhIgoSq5Leh0GM-3coEf0A4wJ8rKjM6XVUBOGkLrAJN612fqVUfvVXvw9QW0MVdTo4BOduhackfurwebDPig8u_s/s400/Chris+Depkin+and+Sooty+Terns.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chris Depkin
surveys the wildlife at Jarvis Island</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxOp4SxRY2t3gm4ADNwO39sOk8RHNn0FHi5bTU1obD1h91_z93QRtS4gOqWnwvWog0X2uFKarWDhu3m1X4XDrd5fEK9iZTCtbQdH1Lp328puMEbN0oxYMB1Iq33QjtoZFka1_Q9dB6zaw/s1600/Masked%20Booby%20Chick.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxOp4SxRY2t3gm4ADNwO39sOk8RHNn0FHi5bTU1obD1h91_z93QRtS4gOqWnwvWog0X2uFKarWDhu3m1X4XDrd5fEK9iZTCtbQdH1Lp328puMEbN0oxYMB1Iq33QjtoZFka1_Q9dB6zaw/s200/Masked%20Booby%20Chick.JPG" width="132" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Masked Booby
(<i>Sula <br />
dactylatra </i>) chick awaits <br />
its mother's return</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Jarvis Island National Wildlife Refuge
(NWR) has something to offer everyone. As you can see by exploring
previous blog entrees, the underwater world is exceptional by any
standard. However, if you were to crawl out of the water, up onto and
over the coral rubble that forms the beach, you would see a dazzling
view of life on dry land equaling that of the surrounding coral reef
community. After days on the open ocean all of your senses would be
simultaneously assaulted by the sound of thousands of nesting seabirds,
the sight of verdant island vegetation and the fragrance of
life, reproduction and death. You see, Jarvis Island, only a little
over one thousand acres in size, is the only land within thousands of
square miles of open ocean. As such, this island provides the only
suitable conditions for as many as 13 or more different seabird species
of birds, in numbers often exceeding several hundred thousand, to mate
and reproduce.<br />
<br />
The isolated nature of Jarvis Island (> 200 miles from the next
nearest island) makes visitation difficult and is generally accomplished
only once every two years. On 01 April, two members of the US Fish and
Wildlife Service, Jiny Kim and Chris Depkin, were dropped off on the
north-west shore of the island. They spent the next 5 days and 4
nights exploring the terrestrial environs for the purpose of assessing
the state of the seabird communities, looking for signs of unauthorized
human presence, identifying and neutralizing any hazards to wildlife,
mapping and inspecting the island’s vegetation communities for changes
in distribution patterns and looking for recent, non-native plant
introductions. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKGBu9lQYNu7TVANd0VfY-7rz1sVayX9frxufh5kFkFkuhite7eRo9DgS-62jUvq0N73GXTIYbABTUhrHeHKBtksk443vH8zD7tMoYcUQ8KyFkUz7IqFzQzvKKyd9Udt1WH8bpiLK16Nw/s1600/White%20Tern.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKGBu9lQYNu7TVANd0VfY-7rz1sVayX9frxufh5kFkFkuhite7eRo9DgS-62jUvq0N73GXTIYbABTUhrHeHKBtksk443vH8zD7tMoYcUQ8KyFkUz7IqFzQzvKKyd9Udt1WH8bpiLK16Nw/s200/White%20Tern.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A White Tern
(<i>Gygis alba</i>) finds<br />
a perch to view its surroundings</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Jarvis Island supports very few
plant species most of which are low growing. There are no trees on the island. During previous
visits, plant species were described as brown, and dried with little
flowering, dead or not detected at all. Our first impression of the
island was astonishment and wonder at both the diversity and extent of
coverage of the vegetation. Well over half of the island was bright
green with at least 8 species well represented and most either flowering
or in seed, or both. <br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Hermit Crab
searches for food</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
However, conditions favorable for plant growth and
reproduction (excessive rain fall) are not necessarily conditions
suitable for seabird nesting. The unusual amount of rainfall at Jarvis
is likely a result of the recent El Niño-Southern Oscillation event
(ENSO) which can bring about large scale changes in regional weather
patterns once every 3-5 years. These large scale changes, and in
particular changes in sea surface temperature (SST), also affect the
distribution, abundance, availability and predictability of prey items
critical to successful nesting. <br />
<br />
The region is just now
emerging from the current El Niño event and our visit to Jarvis seemed
to support the above. Although thousands of seabirds were present during
this visit, the vast majority were in the very early stages of nesting,
either sitting on eggs or standing around, on territory, getting ready. Chris and Jiny documented the presence of very few chicks either alive or dead
(dead chicks indicate earlier breeding attempts that failed) which
indicates little or no nesting has occurred here over the last several
months. Very preliminary and crude estimates suggest there were less
than 150,000 birds present on the island during this visit. Previous
visits place estimates well over one-million birds present during peak
nesting. <br />
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<br />
After walking
more than 30 miles during the 5 day period, locating and counting
breeding birds and mapping vegetation distributions, Jiny and Chris were
picked up where they were dropped off, not to return for another 2
years. <br />
<br />
Jarvis Island is without question a rare
jewel set in the vastness of the Pacific Ocean. On January 6th, 2009,
President George W. Bush established the Pacific Remote Islands Marine
National Monument. Jarvis Island NWR along with Howland and Baker island, Johnston, Wake, and Palmyra Atolls, and Kingman Reef are all
included in this new Marine Monument which contains 86,888 square miles of
mostly open ocean and the above uplands. The areas designated by this
new Monument are used by over 4 million breeding tropical seabirds and at least 10 million more that are pre-breeders or
migrants passing through those waters on their way to Northern and
Southern breeding grounds. Protecting these remote
places cannot be overstated, important not only for the marine and
terrestrial organisms that live there but for the enjoyment, benefit and
educational opportunities afforded future generations.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4KH5vb7J84Ne5vW8Q9un1oBYMjbWoYLxGDMWmR_c9y3nVa4xBmYMkLv1_CnQQffulunLHWnM9YRT-0NgbFXfob4aJFppwihrFYNtSuET0D9qCXWm8Rm0R6-RbKpOstAQg_SyDOmJY2WA/s1600/Sunset.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4KH5vb7J84Ne5vW8Q9un1oBYMjbWoYLxGDMWmR_c9y3nVa4xBmYMkLv1_CnQQffulunLHWnM9YRT-0NgbFXfob4aJFppwihrFYNtSuET0D9qCXWm8Rm0R6-RbKpOstAQg_SyDOmJY2WA/s400/Sunset.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The last bit of light before the sun sets over the Pacific</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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</div>NOAA CREDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14258691950853083756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544645999733904675.post-2104184845650192022010-04-09T20:36:00.003-10:002010-04-11T11:53:09.802-10:00Palmyra Atoll<span style="font-size:x-small;">By Paula Ayotte</span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDA_dbN1zVX6txsYq5m-zJrYgOW6jKiDa7QWywLtj4eVrtuXERoKPlrY1QbPv2zzbEQanWh8zgV8VMcESlgEz7xNTFAo8zklUEAe0yyaZzpo9IAAXzXI7Xym7eq2SCJxmFcR0bFqpcqSs/s1600/Palmyra_Sandin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDA_dbN1zVX6txsYq5m-zJrYgOW6jKiDa7QWywLtj4eVrtuXERoKPlrY1QbPv2zzbEQanWh8zgV8VMcESlgEz7xNTFAo8zklUEAe0yyaZzpo9IAAXzXI7Xym7eq2SCJxmFcR0bFqpcqSs/s400/Palmyra_Sandin.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Palmyra Atoll from above.<span style="font-size:xx-small;"> </span><span style="font-size:xx-small;">Photograph by Stuart Sandin</span></td></tr></tbody></table> Leaving Jarvis on our 400-mile northward transit to Palmyra, we’ve again crossed the equator and have arrived at this low-lying atoll. Palmyra is considered a true atoll because it has reefs encircling three sub-lagoons and supporting many islets. Having surveyed the fish populations here in 2006 and 2008, I’m curious to see if the milkfish (<i>Chanos chanos</i>), blacktip reef sharks (<i>Carcharinus melanopterus</i>), humphead wrasse (<i>Cheilinus undulatus</i>), schools of twinspot snapper (<i>Lutjanus bojar</i>), and manta rays (<i>Manta birostris</i>) that I remember will again make their way into my transect to be counted. Palmyra was discovered by the captain of the American ship Palmyra in 1802, but was not claimed until 1862 when ownership was asserted by Captain Zenas Bent and J.B. Wilkinson for the Kingdom of Hawai’i. Although Palmyra was also claimed by United States under the Guano Islands Act of 1856, it was not actively mined as approximately 180 inches of rainfall per year made it too wet for guano accumulation.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmra1upI47pGTT4yZzXSVZILw7_zWxGeLbiuFsdTde1zIqJoxacAPMYFXacAcnCBTW39BIX2kY7Wdp__q5W3AuwIHMYJyhsqdH6APJhpuRjgbvU4Ro8jasmMSOe_3o8Z97hOiGDAfM1js/s1600/IMG_5837.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmra1upI47pGTT4yZzXSVZILw7_zWxGeLbiuFsdTde1zIqJoxacAPMYFXacAcnCBTW39BIX2kY7Wdp__q5W3AuwIHMYJyhsqdH6APJhpuRjgbvU4Ro8jasmMSOe_3o8Z97hOiGDAfM1js/s200/IMG_5837.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A school of Rainbow<br />Runner (<i>Elagatis Bipinnulata</i>). <span style="font-size:xx-small;"><br />Photograph by Danny Merritt</span></td></tr></tbody></table>The British also claimed Palmyra in 1889. The Pacific Navigation Company bought Palmyra in 1885 and the company’s interests were conveyed in 1911 to Judge Henry Cooper via petition to the Land Court of the Territory of Hawai’i. Judge Cooper sold all of Palmyra except two islets to the Fullard-Leo family in 1922. In preparation for possible war, the US Navy attempted to lease Palmyra from the Fullard- Leo family in 1938. However, in 1939 the US Congress authorized construction of a naval base at Palmyra, and the US filed suit to annex the atoll. Up to 6,000 servicemen occupied Palmyra Atoll Naval Air Station during the World War II era. In 1947 the US Supreme Court, returned ownership of the atoll to the Fullard-Leo family. The 1959 Hawai’i Statehood Act specifically excluded Palmyra, and by that time US Navy occupation had ceased and all other federal presence at the atoll ended. Subsequently, the atoll remained abandoned except for resident caretakers supported by the Fullard-Leo family.<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdLa349al2XZi5-uyS-UCnCyFGMFiS_HGuRcjbFjwsu3Qcj-xMVgdg5xU5CIIF0Qv48W_EuOvMO4UZ8gYRhIM6P1pheoRNVQL9vBN_Ilj9kiqONNdXJmB8oorkfbRjv3TsTqRov0nQe7M/s1600/IMG_5826.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdLa349al2XZi5-uyS-UCnCyFGMFiS_HGuRcjbFjwsu3Qcj-xMVgdg5xU5CIIF0Qv48W_EuOvMO4UZ8gYRhIM6P1pheoRNVQL9vBN_Ilj9kiqONNdXJmB8oorkfbRjv3TsTqRov0nQe7M/s200/IMG_5826.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Manta Ray (<i>Manta birostris</i>),<br />Palmyra Atoll. <span style="font-size:xx-small;">Photograph by Chip Young</span></td></tr></tbody></table>In 2000, Palmyra was purchased by The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and in 2001 the USFWS purchased all of Palmyra from TNC except for the main island (Cooper) and established the Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). In 2006, TNC completed construction of a research station at Cooper Island, where up to 20 scientists and staff can be housed. While we’re here we hope to have the chance to meet with several of the scientists currently on the atoll to discuss our common research goals and find out what their experiences have been working for weeks or months at a time on Palmyra.NOAA CREDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14258691950853083756noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544645999733904675.post-90635161578440617242010-04-06T20:35:00.003-10:002010-04-07T23:22:08.695-10:00Predator Dominated Reefs<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">By Brian Zgliczynski </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXzbZ1IT1-Y2aLOdK7YeMfc5cjOPY2YgHBgx0netzwQr0iSW3XErUpwTgEU6SLWLdrVpeX6ZpBUy8nsFrZkbP7uCBK3_ESiBHyjHNvDpH0FFGcO45WHttsg5LMcKfT5Eo-GCpFFabA3TQ/s1600-h/Jarvis%203_BZ%20compressed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXzbZ1IT1-Y2aLOdK7YeMfc5cjOPY2YgHBgx0netzwQr0iSW3XErUpwTgEU6SLWLdrVpeX6ZpBUy8nsFrZkbP7uCBK3_ESiBHyjHNvDpH0FFGcO45WHttsg5LMcKfT5Eo-GCpFFabA3TQ/s400/Jarvis%203_BZ%20compressed.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Typical reef scene at Jarvis Island with large-bodied predatory species <br />
patrolling the reef.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
If you could ask any of the scientists aboard the Hi'ialakai to describe what it's like to dive at Jarvis Island, you would hear something like: “mind-blowing, intimidating, exhilarating, intense, eye-opening“. If you heard these words alone you would think we were out here in the central Pacific filming an energy drink commercial, or certainly something other than conducting scientific research. However, this is definitely not the case, and Jarvis Island is all of this, and more. The first thing we notice upon arriving at a dive site are ominous shadows circling below. As we perform pre-dive checks and review survey protocols, you can’t help but wonder what awaits. The few minutes just before a dive can be filled with anticipation, and quite an adrenaline rush.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwlWWLTcWmR_Gg7vmJNT00e9t_BshLLLVVXiT4sTUZbmfJlOZ2gsvMPsw1CWy9FFZZc1Dwqw3wRhW-27PVRUPiRFnSdnrc3JbHR1ULrvcdpgCefFCZ6snBEXdOSda7R6G_sbS23TnrrCs/s1600-h/Jarvis%201_BZ%20compressed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwlWWLTcWmR_Gg7vmJNT00e9t_BshLLLVVXiT4sTUZbmfJlOZ2gsvMPsw1CWy9FFZZc1Dwqw3wRhW-27PVRUPiRFnSdnrc3JbHR1ULrvcdpgCefFCZ6snBEXdOSda7R6G_sbS23TnrrCs/s200/Jarvis%201_BZ%20compressed.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Predatory species like jacks and sharks <br />
are abundant at Jarvis</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Upon entering the water the ecological monitoring team is greeted by numerous predatory fishes such as grey reef sharks (<i>Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos</i>), twinspot snapper <i>(Lutjanus bohar</i>), black trevally (<i>C. lugubris</i>) , and coral grouper (<i>Cephalopholis miniata</i>). Large-bodied predatory species, which are common at Jarvis, are becoming increasingly rare throughout the tropical Pacific with fisheries exploitation exerting direct impact on reef-fish communities. Predatory species play an integral role in structuring coral reefs and the systematic removal of these important species can have detrimental impacts to the ecosystem. <br />
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CRED divers conduct surveys recording species composition as well as the number and size of all fishes observed in a predefined area. These data are converted into measures of abundance and biomass and used to estimate fish populations around an island or reef. At Jarvis, predatory species are highly abundant and account for over half of total fish biomass. Reef scenes like the one pictured above are commonplace. To put this into perspective, Jarvis has about 300 times more predatory fish biomass than the entire island of Oahu. The research conducted here has altered our perspective of the typical trophic pyramid in which predators (tertiary consumers) comprise a small fraction of total fish biomass in a reef ecosystem. At Jarvis Island, the trophic pyramid is inverted, with top predators accounting for a majority of fish biomass. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidRLKHazbmL4AmvVvhIGnqRiYCVvGvXGCLoYtnCjpr8LhtU2u4jjQ3IEW-d1aNCyNIbHXEmllqCMqoI3p4OJ8cwOtqHtNHfe4IAApbPuBcD2JfZSyn-kG5nKPI3YPN8ihH8O-vAemLspY/s1600-h/Biomass+Pyramid.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidRLKHazbmL4AmvVvhIGnqRiYCVvGvXGCLoYtnCjpr8LhtU2u4jjQ3IEW-d1aNCyNIbHXEmllqCMqoI3p4OJ8cwOtqHtNHfe4IAApbPuBcD2JfZSyn-kG5nKPI3YPN8ihH8O-vAemLspY/s400/Biomass+Pyramid.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td class="tr-caption">Trophic pyramids with species divided into their respective trophic categories. <br />
Tertiary consumers = top-level predatory species, planktivores = species that <br />
feed on microscopic organisms, Secondary consumers = lower-level carnivorous <br />
species, and Primary consumers = herbivores. The Pyramid to the left represents <br />
a degraded system with few predators (tertiary consumers) while the pyramid to <br />
the right represents what researchers have observed at Jarvis Island,<br />
where predators are highly abundant.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As predator dominated coral reef ecosystems become increasingly rare in most parts of the world, contemporary ecological studies concentrate efforts on systems that have already been degraded. However, Jarvis Island and other U.S. Pacific islands represent some of the remaining examples of ecosystems in their natural state. Such systems provide an ecological baseline and an unprecedented opportunity for marine scientists to understand what ‘pristine’ coral reef ecosystems are like, aiding in the formulation of appropriate metrics necessary for developing effective ecosystem-based management and recovery plans towards the future.<br />
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</div>NOAA CREDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14258691950853083756noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544645999733904675.post-83035552668518448962010-04-03T22:44:00.007-10:002010-04-03T23:44:00.169-10:00The Oceanography of Jarvis Island<span style="font-size: x-small;">By Jamison Gove</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grey Reef Sharks often congregate in the tens to hundreds at Jarvis Island</td></tr>
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There is an intimate and inseparable link that exists between oceanography and coral reef ecosystems. Ocean waves, currents, temperature, salinity, and nutrient availability are each important and play a significant role in determining not only the diversity and abundance of organisms an a coral reef, but can also dictate the morphology (shape) of coral and algae species and the substrate they inhabit. For example, corals which are consistently battered by ocean waves tend to be low-lying and mound-shaped, lacking the large, delicate and branching structures that are often found in more benign, wave-free environments.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A few Raccoon Butterfly fish <br />
make their way down the reef</td></tr>
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In some places around the world, this connection between coral reef ecosystem dynamics and the surrounding environment can be subtle; however, at Jarvis Island this elemental relationship is so abundantly clear you would have to be sound asleep to miss it. In other words, you can actually see oceanography in action.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Schools of small fish are common <br />
at Jarvis Island</td></tr>
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Due to its location in the central equatorial Pacific, Jarvis is impacted by a strong, cold, nutrient-rich ocean current flowing below the surface, centered at approximately 150 meters depth. This current, known as the Equatorial Undercurrent, is spawned in the far western Pacific and flows eastward along the equator and across the entire Pacific Ocean. When this fast-moving current interacts with Jarvis Island, it forces deep water to the near-surface, providing copious amounts of nutrients to the surrounding coral, algal, and fish communities. These nutrients are quickly assimilated by the reef community, fueling an astonishingly productive and ecologically vibrant coral reef system. Few places on the planet have the oceanographic and coral reef environment that is found at Jarvis, making it a unique and special place not only for scientific research, but also for protection for many generations to come.NOAA CREDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14258691950853083756noreply@blogger.com1Unknown location-0.37 -159.98-0.391457 -160.00918249999998 -0.348543 -159.9508175tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544645999733904675.post-78541065408057011352010-03-31T20:23:00.016-10:002010-03-31T21:48:50.153-10:00Jarvis Island<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">by Paula Ayotte, photos by Jamison Gove</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">After five days of transit from Pago Pago, we’ve finally arrived at Jarvis Island, the sixth island in the Line Islands chain. This puts us once again close to the equator, about 1,000 miles from American Samoa, 1,200 miles from Honolulu, and 400 miles from our next stop, Palmyra Atoll. For some of us on board, this is a return trip to this remote island chain. For others, this will be their first expedition to the Line Islands. Regardless of how many times we’ve been here, how many dives we’ve already done, how many fish or corals we’ve counted, or how many oceanographic instruments we’ve deployed or retrieved, all of us are looking forward with great anticipation to getting in the water and conducting research at Jarvis Island.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The coral reef ecosystem at <br />Jarvis Island.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">On land, this low-lying, arid, warm, lopsided rectangle of land seems unprepossessing, but underwater it’s a wonderland of swirling anthias, curious sharks, and schools of jacks amid an impressive variety of colorful corals. What contributes to the amazing diversity at Jarvis is the remote location and isolation from detrimental human impacts, along with its location in the path of the easterly flowing Equatorial Undercurrent which brings nutrient rich waters upward, enriching the primary productivity of the surface waters surrounding Jarvis.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Though Jarvis is relatively free from human exploitation, like Howland, Baker, Palmyra and Kingman, Jarvis was claimed for the United States under the Guano Islands Act of 1856. Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands were also claimed by the United Kingdom as British Overseas Territories from 1886 to 1934, and guano mining was conducted by both British and American companies through the end of the nineteenth century, after which guano deposits were largely depleted. As at Howland and Baker, a small colony of Kamehameha School graduates was established in 1935, which became known as Hui Panala'au (Society of Colonists). These colonists occupied these islands continually, in three-month shifts of four men per island, in an attempt to help the United States assert territorial jurisdiction over the islands, a jurisdiction crucial to air supremacy in the Pacific. Water and bulk food were supplied from Hawaii. During the period between 1935 and 1942 era; at least 26 trips were made to Jarvis Island by various United States Coast Guard (USCG) cutters. Jarvis Island was evacuated at the beginning of World War II and was unoccupied during the remainder of the war.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Green Sea Turtle drifts gracefully by. </td></tr>
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Post World War II, there were no attempts to re-colonize the island, and in 1948 the United States Coast Guard began making annual visits to maintain claim to Jarvis. In March 1963, and for the following 2 years, Smithsonian Institution employees made a number of visits to Jarvis Island as part of the Pacific Ocean Biological Survey Program. The island and its territorial seas were transferred to the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in 1974 from the Department of the Interior. This area is now managed as a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System and in 2009 was established as part of the the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.NOAA CREDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14258691950853083756noreply@blogger.com0Unknown location-1.41 -160.79-4.154705 -164.5253515 1.3347050000000003 -157.05464849999998tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544645999733904675.post-5046340099600546862010-03-29T17:55:00.015-10:002010-04-01T22:56:05.391-10:00Safety First<span style="font-size: x-small;">by Jamison Gove</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The NOAA Ship Hi'ialakai</span></td></tr>
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Painted in sizable black letters and readily seen against the stark white background of the towering exhaust stacks are two important words: Safety First. These words provide not only a daily reminder of the often unpredictable and precarious nature of seafaring work, but also serve as a testament to the professionalism and commitment of those aboard the Hi'ialakai to conduct safe and impact free operations wherever the ship may travel.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scientist Chip Young<br />
dons a survival suit</td></tr>
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The past few days have been spent instructing the new members of the expedition on the safety procedures in place aboard the ship in addition to providing refresher training for existing personnel. Abandon ship drills, life-raft familiarization, fire drills, dive-gear check outs, oxygen delivery and reviewing diver rescue protocols are just some of the trainings being conducted en route to Jarvis, ensuring that everyone aboard is well equipped to avoid a potential hazard and navigate any situation that may arise.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chamber Supervisor Jim Bostick<br />
provides an overview of the <br />
recompression chamber</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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An intrinsic part of coral reef research is repetitive and arduous SCUBA diving. Since this expedition began, scientists have conducted over 2000 dives, quite a lot considering the
ship left Honolulu just over 2 months ago! Due to the high quantity of dives combined with the remote island locations visited during this research cruise, an essential piece of safety equipment carried on board is a Recompression Chamber, a 52-inch diameter pressure vessel used to treat dive related maladies such as <a href="http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical/dictionary.asp">Decompression
Sickness (DCS)</a>. The chamber has been on the Hi'ialakai since the ship was first commissioned in 2004 as a vast majority of the research conducted on board is diving related. Although the chamber is autonomous, meaning it can operate independent of the Hi'ialakai's power supply, it does require a Chamber Supervisor to properly operate the chamber, a Dive Medical Officer (DMO) to coordinate medical treatment and a Dive Medical Technician (DMT) to tend and care for the injured diver inside the chamber. Each of these people are extensively trained and are present for every dive expedition the Hi'ialakai embarks on, providing security and piece of mind to each of us divers on board the ship.</div>
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</div>NOAA CREDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14258691950853083756noreply@blogger.com2Unknown location-7.6845 -165.5935-18.5077195 179.465094 3.1387195000000006 -150.652094tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544645999733904675.post-79815814316740765402010-03-27T20:33:00.009-10:002010-04-01T22:56:35.649-10:00Goodbye to Amercian Samoa<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">by Jamison Gove</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Hi'ialakai heads to Jarvis Island</td></tr>
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After spending nearly six weeks conducting coral reef research in and around American Samoa, the day has finally arrived to say our goodbyes to the island of Tutuila. With all twenty-two scientists and twenty-five crew members aboard, the Hi′ialakai cast off her lines from the pier early this morning and made a slow and steady departure out of Pago Pago, gently swaying back and forth as we emerged from the quiescent harbor and into the rolling seas of the open ocean. Heading northeast, we’ve now begun the five day journey to Jarvis Island, our first destination of the third and final leg of this expedition. These next few days will be filled with safety drills, scientific planning meetings, trainings, and gear preparation in anticipation for our arrival to Jarvis.<br />
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</div>NOAA CREDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14258691950853083756noreply@blogger.com0American Samoa-14.064652358057725 -170.52978515625-14.397681358057724 -170.99670415625 -13.731623358057725 -170.06286615625tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544645999733904675.post-75760886005414558942010-03-25T14:17:00.000-10:002010-03-25T14:17:52.197-10:00Back in Pago Pago<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">by Benjamin L. Richards</span><br />
The Hi'ialakai is back in Pago Pago for the change-out between Leg 2 and Leg 3 of the expedition. We held a one day education and outreach program for local school children and members of the public on March 23 and conducted calibration dives between the outgoing and incoming researchers on March 24. We will be spending the next few days refitting the ship and small boats for the next leg of the expedition, meeting with local government and agency representatives and getting some much needed rest before we head off to the Line Islands (Jarvis, Palmyra, and Kingman Reef) on March 27. Stay tuned for new discoveries as we reach the Line Islands and start making our way back north.NOAA CREDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146478103110221996noreply@blogger.com0Ma'Oputasi, American Samoa-14.276028609582474 -170.6865119934082-14.296823609582473 -170.71569449340819 -14.255233609582474 -170.65732949340821tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544645999733904675.post-22947121986383611542010-03-21T20:15:00.003-10:002010-03-27T21:08:33.766-10:00A few more questions on Rose Atoll<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coralline algal formation at Rose Atoll,<br />
<i>Porolithon craspedium</i> (Photograph by<br />
Cristi Richards)</td></tr>
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We have received more questions regarding Rose Atoll from Samoana High School students and would like to take the time to provide these answers. We are excited that our work has generated such interest and hope that the questions keep coming. It is important to monitor reef health, but it is just as important to be sure that our findings are reaching the public and those interested. We hope that these answers help to clarify and provide more depth to our previous posts. Enjoy!<br />
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<b>Soshana asks: Whenever you guys visit the Rose Atoll Island, do you discover anything new?</b><br />
<br />
Good question Soshana!<br />
I am not aware of any new discoveries made by us at Rose Atoll during our past visits. Every once in awhile our scientists have discovered a new species and that is always quite exciting!<br />
<br />
More often the “discoveries” we’ve made have been documenting natural phenomena such as coral bleaching, sites with internal tides, and range extensions for various species of fish, algae, and corals. Many other discoveries are known to the local population and those living in the area, but may be unknown to the scientific community or to people living in other parts of the world. This trip we “discovered” that South Bank is a drowned atoll. As far as we know, this was previously unknown until our team completed multibeam surveys of the area!<br />
<i>- Kerry Grimshaw</i><br />
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<b>Marissa asks: According to the picture (Photograph from noaa.coris.gov), is there any other possible ways to help save Rose atoll from sinking?</b><br />
[The picture Marissa is referencing can be found on an <a href="http://asramp10.blogspot.com/2010/03/rose-atoll-part-1.html">earlier blog post</a>]<br />
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Marissa,<br />
I’m sorry to report that there is no easy answer to your question, although I like where your heart is! Islands may have many different fates over time and it all comes back to the geologic processes that take place. Fortunately, these processes generally take millions of years to happen, so it’s unlikely that you’ll see much change in the sinking of Rose Atoll during your lifetime.<br />
<br />
On another note, the current hot topic of climate change could have significant effects on Rose Atoll in the future, particularly related to sea level rise and ocean acidification.<br />
The excerpt below is from an article posted May 29, 2007 on the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A23005351">BBC website</a>:<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Death of Islands</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-TuzNDpRijcTcT4UCt0etCeDUdmd9XqQUfzbrMM8hCNHNo72kN543tDZIbjiy4B1VruFGCVg-tjBXW3mfApxaqYHclNcLeB9BVu7qrExLn307xXRuSMBdLHX6A8I_402bDZF4w3hp9ZQ/s1600-h/Rose%20Again%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-TuzNDpRijcTcT4UCt0etCeDUdmd9XqQUfzbrMM8hCNHNo72kN543tDZIbjiy4B1VruFGCVg-tjBXW3mfApxaqYHclNcLeB9BVu7qrExLn307xXRuSMBdLHX6A8I_402bDZF4w3hp9ZQ/s200/Rose%20Again%20(1).jpg" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Exposed reef covered in coralline algae at Rose Atoll</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(Photograph by Cristi Richards)</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The world is constantly changing and islands will not live forever. There are four main fates for an island:</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It may be brought up against a larger land mass by continental drift. 40 million years ago, this happened to the island of India, when it collided with the continent of Asia. The resultant crash hasn't finished yet - the Himalaya mountains are the crumple zone, where the folded Earth's crust absorbs the impact of India with the rest of Asia.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A small island may be eroded by the elements until there is nothing left above water. This was the fate of the westernmost of the Hawaiian Islands, which are now under the sea.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">An island on an oceanic tectonic plate may be slowly dragged under the ocean as the plate collides with another plate and is subducted, that is, is pushed in under the other plate. This is the ultimate fate of each of the Galapagos islands. After they are created over a mid-ocean hot spot, they travel east until the plate they are on collides with and slides under the South American plate. The easternmost islands of the group are sliding back down into the ocean.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Changing currents in the Earth's mantle can cause a section of the ocean floor to be raised up, and subsequently to sink back down again. The Kerguelen Plateau, in the southern Indian Ocean, is now about two kilometres under the sea, with just a few isolated peaks showing above the surface as the Kerguelen Islands, but 100 million years ago, it was raised up to form an island three times the size of Japan. It is likely that it had animals and plants living on it. Then about 20 million years ago, the mantle currents changed and it slowly sank back down into the sea.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">All of these slow deaths take millions of years to come about. In the meantime, islands continue to exert a fascination on mankind.</span><br />
<i>- Kerry Grimshaw</i><br />
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<b>Valentine asks: Are there any human beings living on Rose Atoll?</b><br />
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Valentine,<br />
No one lives at Rose Atoll and historically it has mostly been uninhabited with the exception of a brief time in the 1860s when the German government tried to establish a fishing station and coconut plantation. They didn’t have much luck as one of the 2 islands is often nothing more than a shifting sand bank!<br />
<i>- Mark Manuel</i><br />
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<b>Oina asks: Are we allowed to visit Rose Atoll on our own or do we have to go with some sort of researchers?</b><br />
<br />
Hi Oina,<br />
As of now, the Rose Atoll National Wildlife Refuge is closed to the public. This closure is to protect fragile seabird colonies, endangered species, and island habitats. Special use permits to conduct scientific research can be obtained from the Pacific Remote Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex office in Honolulu. For more information see www.fws.gov/roseatoll<br />
<br />
With Rose Atoll recently being designated a Marine National Monument there are likely to be more regulations established for the area in the near future as visitor access is often considered in the regulations governing National Monuments. Until those new regulations are in place it is hard to answer your question completely. I would expect that there will be a permit system set up for controlling the work that can be done within the Monument. While it sounds like there may be lots of rules, we are used to obtaining permits for our work within various protected areas such as Sanctuaries, National Parks, Marine National Monuments, National Wildlife Refuges, and other territorial or commonwealth Marine Protected Areas.<br />
<i>- Kerry Grimshaw</i>NOAA CREDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14258691950853083756noreply@blogger.com0Unknown location-12.0734833 -170.6153667-17.4374693 -178.0860697 -6.7094973 -163.14466370000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544645999733904675.post-41908794264795757262010-03-17T16:35:00.002-10:002010-03-17T17:58:43.057-10:00Swain's Island<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">by Kerry Grimshaw</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swain's Atoll (Photograph by Kerry Grimshaw)</td></tr>
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This morning we started work at the last of the islands in the Territory of American Samoa: Swains Island. Although Swains is part of American Samoa, geologically and geographically it is an atoll in the Tokelau Archipelago. Swains Island is the northernmost island in the Territory of American Samoa and lies about 350 km (220 mi) north-northwest of Tutuila.<br />
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It is thought that the first European to discover the island was Pedro Fernandez de Queiros in 1606 and named it <span style="font-style: italic;">Isla de la Gente Hermosa</span> (“island of the beautiful people”). After that the island was unvisited by Europeans until 1840 when Capt. W.C. Swains of New Bedford, Massachusetts visited and thinking he was the first to land there, he named it Swain’s Island. The British Capt. Turnbull also claimed to have discovered the island and sold Swain's Island to the American Eli Hutchinson Jennings Sr. In 1856 Eli and his Samoan wife Malia moved to the island and claimed it with the US flag (as a semi-independent proprietary settlement of the Jennings family). Swain's Island was also claimed by the US Government under the Guano Islands Act in 1860. The ownership of the island was passed down to Eli Jr. who managed the copra plantation which was established by his father. Upon Eli Jr.’s death, the US government on March 4, 1925 granted the right of administration jointly to his children Ann (the estate) and Alexander (the island) while concurrently making it officially part of American Samoa by annexation. The island is currently inhabited by 4-30 people at any given time in order to retain private ownership by the Jennings family and as part of the Territory of American Samoa.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swains Island as seen from space</td></tr>
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Swains as an atoll is unusual due to its unbroken circular island which encloses a central “brackish” lagoon. Swains has a total area of 1.9 sq km (0.7 sq mi) and is approximately equivalent to 380 football fields. The ring-shaped island is still encircled with coconut trees although the copra plantation is no longer active. The outer edge of the atoll consists of coral reef flats that are awash at low tide. CRED multibeam mapping surveys in 2006 revealed that like Ta’u there are little or no shallow banks surrounding the island and the reef descends to abyssal depths less than 1 km off shore. After our 20 hour transit to Swains we’ll be spending the next 3 days working and monitoring the coral reefs here.NOAA CREDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14258691950853083756noreply@blogger.com0Unknown location-11.0750667 -171.1061667-11.1592987 -171.22289619999998 -10.9908347 -170.9894372tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544645999733904675.post-32037433703201051992010-03-16T09:38:00.001-10:002010-03-16T09:40:10.579-10:00Rose Revisited<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right; margin-left: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwkeuImYH5xJse3oP1G05B40YJiRZyYWDWoLTNTwC86t3Tu313snZGdOX5SwOvjBU25zz_RiBv8AiKgVS32CacfcvEOZkKcOwdYgBhyejh735JbAg_6PWWJpT38CAyj7Wze2VTu3lSBsc/s1600-h/Rose.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449127022011404322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwkeuImYH5xJse3oP1G05B40YJiRZyYWDWoLTNTwC86t3Tu313snZGdOX5SwOvjBU25zz_RiBv8AiKgVS32CacfcvEOZkKcOwdYgBhyejh735JbAg_6PWWJpT38CAyj7Wze2VTu3lSBsc/s320/Rose.jpg" style="float: right; height: 320px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; width: 240px;" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coralline algal and coral formation at Rose<br />Atoll (Photograph by Cristi Richards)</td></tr></tbody></table>It’s always great to know that people are interested in the work we do to monitor and conserve coral reefs. Recently we’ve learned that Ms. Lui’s Marine Science class form Samoana High School class in Utulei, American Samoa has been following our blog. We’ve recently received a list of questions from them that we’ll be answering in the next few blog posts. It’s a good feeling knowing that the next generation of young people are as excited about Marine Science as we are!<br /><br /><b>Joseph writes: What types of corals did you see at Rose Atoll that are different from those at Johnston Atoll?</b><br /><br />Hi Joseph,<br />That’s an excellent question! Rose and Johnston Atoll are located in distinct geographical regions and as such, they exhibit unique coral faunas. For example, the table coral Acropora cytherea and the rice coral Montipora capitata are quite common and abundant on the shallow reticulate reefs at Johnston Atoll lagoon. In contrast, corals of the genera Montastrea, Coscinaraea, and Astreopora which are absent at Johnston, are quite common around Rose Atoll. However, regardless of how far away are Rose and Johnston from each other (>1000 miles), there are a few, shared coral faunal elements, including the cauliflower coral Pocillopora mendrina, and the corrugated coral, Pavona varians.<br /><i>- Dr. Bernardo Vargas-Angel</i><br /><br /><b>Lita writes: How come there are different species around the rose atoll island when it’s just a small remote island?</b><br /><br />Hi Lita,<br />It is difficult to answer why the corals are so different at Rose compared to Tutuila, although distance (240 km from Tutuila), differences in geomorphology (Rose is a low lying atoll compared to a mountainous island), island size and shape (Rose has a land area of 21 hectares and a height of 4 meters, while Tutuila has a land area of 14,181 hectares and a maximum elevation of 653 meters) likely contribute. Many of the corals that are found around Tutuila are also found around Rose Atoll, although there are not as many coral species that inhabit Rose. Also, the relative abundance of species is very different between the areas. Tutuila likely harbors more species of coral because there is more reef area and thus more chance for different types of habitat to develop, which can provide homes for corals. Certain corals like a lot of water motion from waves, while others prefer very calm waters. Some corals like a lot of sunlight, so they live in the shallows, while others prefer deeper darker waters. Since Tutuila also has mountains, waterfalls, and streams, lots of sediment and nutrients may flow into the sea creating another habitat that is not found at Rose since the island is so short! Also, due to Rose Atoll's tiny size, wave swells originating from far away can impact almost all sides as the waves wrap around the atoll. Whereas ocean swells which approach Tutuila will likely be blocked by the shores of the island in certain areas which create more protected habitats. Likely a combination of these factors and potentially others result in the difference in coral communities between the islands.<br /><i>- Jason Helyer</i><br />While Jason’s answer speaks mostly about corals, this same reasoning can be used to explain the differences in the species of fish, algae, and other invertebrates.<br /><br /><b>Motina writes: How would you compare the Rose Atoll with the other atolls you have visited? Was the Rose Atoll the best view of the underworld you have ever seen? Are there any changes of the Rose Atoll?</b><br /><br />Hi Motina,<br />Every one of the atolls we visit is different from the rest. A lot of this has to do with what geographic region it is located in. Rose Atoll is pretty spectacular and is unlike many of the other places we visit due to the incredible abundance of the crustose coralline algae. It’s this algae that give the reef its vibrant pink color! The vivid pink color combined with the clear blue water and the various other colors found among the corals, fish and algae certainly make it a beautiful place and fantastic for underwater photography!<br /><br />As far as changes to Rose Atoll from previous years I did not observe any noticeable differences from my visit to Rose Atoll in 2008. However, sometimes differences can be quite small and may not be realized until we take a deeper look into the data and comparing it to years past.<br /><i>- Kerry Grimshaw</i><br /><br /><b>Soshana writes: How long have you guys been visiting the Rose Atoll Island?</b><br /><br />Hi Soshana,<br />We (NOAA’s Coral Reef Ecosystem Division) have been visiting Rose Atoll since 2002 during our biennial American Samoa Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program cruise. This year was our 5th trip to Rose Atoll.<br /><i>- Paula Ayotte</i><br /><br />Thank you for all of your questions and we will continue to answer them in the upcoming days!NOAA CREDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14258691950853083756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544645999733904675.post-82197319210769145432010-03-14T23:05:00.005-10:002010-03-16T09:29:44.101-10:00The Oceanography Team<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">by Oliver Vetter</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frank Mancini and Oliver Vetter using a liftbag to deploy the Remote Access Sampler<br />
(Photograph by Noah Pomeroy)</td></tr>
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As part of our Pacific RAMP cruises, several types of oceanographic instruments are deployed to continually measure water conditions at our research sites. These instruments remain in place for a period of 2 years and are maintained during each cruise. To accomplish this, the oceanography team’s daily operations typically include deploying and recovering oceanographic instruments. These can be small, like the numerous subsurface temperature recorders we’ve deployed, or larger like a wave and tide recorder or sea surface temperature buoy. The larger instruments require the installation of large anchors to hold them to the sea floor under strong currents and waves. The anchors we typically use are 250lbs, which are obviously too heavy for a single person to carry either above water or below. To deploy these anchors we use lift bags, which are basically bags filled with air that float the anchor when full. At the surface the bag is full and the diver slowly releases air out of the bag until the weight of the anchor, being pulled down by gravity, equals the upward buoyancy of the lift bag. At this point the bag can be submerged and starts to slowly descend to the sea floor, preferably under the control of the oceanographer. Since the water pressure increases with depth as you descend through the water column the additional water pressure compresses the volume of the lift bag and so reduces its buoyancy. This causes the anchor to sink faster and in turn reduce the buoyancy and sink even faster, so air has to be slowly added again and again to keep the lift bag from dropping too quickly and out of control. This can be a tricky balance of releasing and adding air, to drop the anchor under control to the seafloor.<br />
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Once at the bottom, the new instrument is clamped to the anchor and the old instrument and anchor are removed in the same, but opposite way; the air bag is refilled, and the anchor is raised from the bottom. This time the oceanographer has to be particularly careful not to raise the anchor too fast, or let it get out of control. When diving shallower than 130 feet on normal SCUBA, the diver should ascend at a rate no quicker than 30 feet per minute to avoid decompression sickness. With proper training this kind of work is safe and it’s a matter of pride among the oceanography team to get a good lift.</div>
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In the picture, Oceanographers Oliver Vetter and Frank Mancini are retrieving a Remote Access Sampler (RAS), an instrument that can be programmed to collect water samples at predetermined intervals. This RAS was programmed to collect water samples every hour through out a 48-hour period at Rose Atoll. The water samples will be analyzed for Dissolved Inorganic Carbon and Total Alkalinity in an effort to understand the water chemistry of the reef throughout the day. This is part of a larger effort to understand and predict the ecological impacts of ocean acidification.</div>NOAA CREDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146478103110221996noreply@blogger.com1American Samoa-14.253735226496016 -169.881591796875-14.919228226496015 -170.815429796875 -13.588242226496016 -168.947753796875tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544645999733904675.post-16177178096820671602010-03-12T23:06:00.007-10:002010-03-14T11:44:55.993-10:00Ancient Corals of Ta'u, American Samoa<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">by Douglas Fenner</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The largest known coral colony<br />
(Photograph by Paul Brown, NPAS)</td></tr>
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On the southwest coast of Ta’u Island, American Samoa, there is a coral of massive proportions. It is a smooth hemispherical coral in the genus <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Porites</i>. It measures 7 m (23 feet) tall and has a circumference of an amazing 41 m (135 feet). It is in near-perfect condition, with one narrow cleft that is dead and one low tumor the size of person. The tumor retains the color and polyps of the normal coral, it is just raised a little, and these types of tumors appear not to hurt the coral. It is the largest circumference coral we know of in the world (so far), although it is not the tallest. There is another coral in Taiwan that is taller.</div>
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This ancient coral is estimated to have 200 million tiny polyps, and to weigh 129 metric tons. It is clearly old, but we don’t know for sure how old. Australian researchers have come up with a formula for how fast this type of coral grows, based on water temperature. Due to relatively high water temperatures in American Samoa, corals grow faster than elsewhere. The formula indicates it should be about 360 years old. The only way to find out for sure is to remove a core from it, which has not been done. Whatever its age, we know from its good health and size that conditions there have been favorable for corals in this area for a longtime. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3FAXpivvAbjIJaGpIuzTQv98-9uhhPFbCWyleok90oaiT8amPDRkGmnSMeluSi1YfX9Aydqk1y7YzDuJVBSc9W1cPl5lLRewkQUmuX5X7yrPx_d7taPdUv9fBWBfOqpTLtoVdHb47GIw/s1600-h/Big%20Mama%201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3FAXpivvAbjIJaGpIuzTQv98-9uhhPFbCWyleok90oaiT8amPDRkGmnSMeluSi1YfX9Aydqk1y7YzDuJVBSc9W1cPl5lLRewkQUmuX5X7yrPx_d7taPdUv9fBWBfOqpTLtoVdHb47GIw/s200/Big%20Mama%201.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diver next to the tumor on the<br />
largest known coral<br />
(Photograph by Paul Brown)</td></tr>
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Small samples of the skeleton show that it is in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Porites lutea </i>group of corals. Genetics indicates that there are at least three species in this group, all of which have similar skeletal details. Coral species identification is based on details of the skeleton. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This coral was originally pointed out to researcher Dr. Alison Green by a Samoan employee of National Parks, Fale Tuilagi. Subsequently, CRED has found more corals of similar size on the east side of Ta’u. Ta’u is a shield volcano like Mauna Loa in Hawaii, the youngest island in the Samoan archipelago at a mere 100,000 years, and home to the village from which voyagers set out over a thousand years ago to settle all of the Polynesian islands. It is also where Margaret Mead did her research that led to her famous anthropological book, “Growing up in Samoa.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Reference:</span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Brown, D. P., Basch, L.,Barshis, D., Foresman, Z., Fenner, D., Goldberg, J. 2009.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">American Samoa’s island of giants: massive </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Porites</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> colonies at Ta’u island. Coral</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Reefs 28: 735.</span><o:p></o:p></div>NOAA CREDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146478103110221996noreply@blogger.com0American Samoa-14.270972 -170.132217-14.6037 -170.599136 -13.938244000000001 -169.665298tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544645999733904675.post-31970633602419327672010-03-11T23:30:00.003-10:002010-03-11T23:30:00.164-10:00Ofu & Olosega Islands<table class="tr-caption-container" style="MARGIN-LEFT: auto; MARGIN-RIGHT: auto; TEXT-ALIGN: center" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tbody><tr><td style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: auto; MARGIN-RIGHT: auto" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsnnVJMH_ddG_XpaoRxI_ckL2urwGjBJwmUjSvZB6dvVNOt5NHX9Xpf6VBAPyZr-H4qmu1IVQUbf_h0uFZRMB_2db8ddcWvkFpWgmfhR6B3LejT3LGloasLUtz9duCaOMY80XpxXMKr4o/s1600-h/IMG_1082.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsnnVJMH_ddG_XpaoRxI_ckL2urwGjBJwmUjSvZB6dvVNOt5NHX9Xpf6VBAPyZr-H4qmu1IVQUbf_h0uFZRMB_2db8ddcWvkFpWgmfhR6B3LejT3LGloasLUtz9duCaOMY80XpxXMKr4o/s320/IMG_1082.jpg" width="320" border="0" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">View of the south side of Ofu (left) and Olosega (right)<br />(Photograph by Kerry Grimshaw)</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">By Kerry Grimshaw</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">We are currently working near the islands of Ofu and Olosega, which are part of the Manu’a group of islands (which also includes Ta'u). They lie approximately 100 km northeast of Tutuila. Although geographically separate, these islands are often referred to together because they are only separated by a narrow straight (approximately 75 m) that is bridged by a shallow coral reef. The twin islands of Ofu (on the west), and Olosega (on the east) are formed by two sharply eroded, overlapping shield volcanoes which gives these islands a dramatic landscape.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Ofu and Olosega are inhabited with the majority of their population (approximately 500 people according to the 2000 census figures) living in the 2 main villages of Ofu and Olosega. An interesting fact I learned from the <a href="http://www.nps.gov/npsa">National Park of American Samoa’s</a> website is that the To’aga archeological site near Ofu Beach has evidence of more than 3,000 years of continuous human occupancy and some modern descendants still live nearby in Ofu Village. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The south-coast beach<b> </b>of Ofu-Olosega<b> </b>with it’s the 4km (2.5mi) stretch of white sand is one of the most beautiful in the South Pacific. Much of the southern coast is also part of the National Park of American Samoa. Along this stretch there are excellent opportunities to snorkel and see some of the 300 species of fish and 150 species of coral that can be found there. Through our shallow water multibeam mapping in 2004 we learned that Ofu and Olosega had a previously uncharted bank top that is less than 300m deep and extends between 0.2 – 2km offshore before dropping to abyssal depths. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Our work this year will continue efforts to monitor fish, coral, algal, invertebrate, and microbial communities at depths ranging from 3 - 30m (10 - 100 feet) deep, as well as a suite of oceanographic observations to better understand the processes influencing these organisms. This data will be compared with that from the other islands we've visited to get an understanding of overall reef health of this area of the world.</div>NOAA CREDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14258691950853083756noreply@blogger.com1American Samoa-14.21247001970112 -169.5904541015625-14.37887701970112 -169.82391360156251 -14.046063019701121 -169.35699460156249tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544645999733904675.post-62418517231365793572010-03-10T17:54:00.002-10:002010-03-10T22:13:20.904-10:00Exploring South Bank<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">by Cristi Richards</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6YGQ49MyrWakKKAcN4l0_tUUUP_cWVjizAxWK37rcUsl4e0AeiMz_Wxunm2D6w2gayEu95afs8lfo_c4Crx_QTSQa2ASwsOKLNrstvFsM2UkSDNwDcwO2paEcinyuPj8EKjwMqQxBNo/s1600-h/SouthBank_Bathy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6YGQ49MyrWakKKAcN4l0_tUUUP_cWVjizAxWK37rcUsl4e0AeiMz_Wxunm2D6w2gayEu95afs8lfo_c4Crx_QTSQa2ASwsOKLNrstvFsM2UkSDNwDcwO2paEcinyuPj8EKjwMqQxBNo/s400/SouthBank_Bathy.jpg" width="307" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Exploratory map of South Bank, American Samoa<br />
(ARC GIS map created by Tomoko Acoba)</td></tr>
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South Bank is a sub-surface rise in the ocean floor, or seamount, located approximately 37 miles south of the island of Tutuila. Until recently, there has been little scientific knowledge about the depths, habitats, or living communities of South Bank. Reported minimum depths varied widely and proposed minimum depths from 10 meters (30 feet) to 30 fathoms. Fisherman have known about and frequently visit South Bank in search of wahoo, tuna, and other pelagic fish that are attracted to the shallower depths. However, it appears that South Bank has only very rarely been observed underwater.</div>
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South Bank is probably not part of the Samoan chain, in geologic terms, due to its location and age. The Samoan chain has been building from the Pacific plate moving over a hotspot, creating islands in a similar fashion to the Hawaiian chain. The older islands are found to the west with the youngest islands in the east. However, South Bank may be greater than 10 million years old, much older than the other Samoan islands in the area. This is similar to how Swains and Rose Atolls are geologically not part of the Samoan chain either, despite their proximity.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrgflYQfOMn2Yo6GUB1tFCjbZ2z8Eobb-LiG3KzXrJlReLY_rHNgXtaa1wb9geMIP6Hid6Y9DmAmpf2K6mOr71gepO_1N4kC8hyphenhyphenVOEmA2-idqjaDSEneaPhOYRGAy-aDx7y8xFvlwlVeA/s1600-h/South%20Bank.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrgflYQfOMn2Yo6GUB1tFCjbZ2z8Eobb-LiG3KzXrJlReLY_rHNgXtaa1wb9geMIP6Hid6Y9DmAmpf2K6mOr71gepO_1N4kC8hyphenhyphenVOEmA2-idqjaDSEneaPhOYRGAy-aDx7y8xFvlwlVeA/s200/South%20Bank.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Heliopora coerulea</i>, Blue Coral at South Bank<br />
(Photograph by Cristi Richards)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In an effort to understand more about this area, we spent several nights last week mapping South Bank using the multibeam sonar installed in the hull of the NOAA Ship Hi’ialakai. For the first time, we found that not only is South Bank a shallow spot in the ocean floor, but it is a former coral atoll which drowned at some point. We can tell that it is a former atoll by the submerged barrier reef, a ring of shallower depths, surrounding a deeper lagoon with a minimum depth of approximately 25 meters (85 feet). There was only one previous known dive to the area that reported the presence of a rubble flat and high currents. Based on this, we planned a series of reconnaissance dives with members from the fish, benthic, oceanography and towed-diver survey teams aboard the Hi’ialakai. Our survey techniques had to be modified to accommodate the deeper habitat and reduced dive times. We were able to complete a total of 36<span style="color: red;"> </span>person dives and approximately 5 km of towed-diver surveys along the raised rim, encircling the lagoon. We encountered mostly rubble flats with a high abundance of macroalgae and low coral cover and diversity. The area seemed highly scoured and although we experienced only moderate currents, it is probable that the area is subjected to high currents. </div>
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South Bank appears to be a reef that has not kept up with sea-level rise, the sinking of the atoll due to the weight of the original island at its center and the sinking of the Pacific plate. It is unclear what the original reef ecosystem was like and it is a mystery why this reef wasn’t able to keep up with these processes. Rose and Swains Atolls experience similar conditions, yet continue to have thriving reef ecosystems. South Bank is an area that will require more investigation to fully understand the history and processes of this submerged atoll. It is exciting that the new investigational maps and surveys may provide more information to aid in future explorations.</div>NOAA CREDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14258691950853083756noreply@blogger.com1Manu'a, American Samoa-14.182181891543859 -169.63199615478516-14.223789391543859 -169.69036115478517 -14.14057439154386 -169.57363115478515tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544645999733904675.post-54022585437123674552010-03-09T14:32:00.000-10:002010-03-09T14:32:58.148-10:00More cool critter sightings<div>
We are currently at the dock in Pago Pago Harbor, waiting for deliveries so that we can continue our work eastward to Ofu / Olosega and Ta'u. Until we are able to leave dock, these are a few more photos of critters that we see while on the reef. All of these pictures were taken in a reef environment between 10 and 20 meters (30 and 60 feet). Enjoy!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Lux7h31cXXeTux2cqGz1NuoJk7DpPrX8V5cOyV9iLEUMgkjXf5oZ0ZWCDl_V8DXZ7wWQQgX19OMfUWTRT6uhtpAlM4GfeBnejZ9zhqVzR8RlCO9364bBWIC8tJ86YO0bYJVxiA0-Nbk/s1600-h/IMG_0986-1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446790018796742354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Lux7h31cXXeTux2cqGz1NuoJk7DpPrX8V5cOyV9iLEUMgkjXf5oZ0ZWCDl_V8DXZ7wWQQgX19OMfUWTRT6uhtpAlM4GfeBnejZ9zhqVzR8RlCO9364bBWIC8tJ86YO0bYJVxiA0-Nbk/s400/IMG_0986-1.jpg" style="display: block; height: 240px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Gomophia sp</i>., a type of Sea Star<br />(Photograph by Molly Timmers)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVlo0u0148IzGAFGHf2pvwRdgF8_lFscvfFTfAiYXvE36OjCOdMZ3ZTTnAE3hQ5uVgpV7wkHQwH9UVuk_-aw3zkNWGSZ1vNBdgl5nGfsfI7QAdwo10_FVwvGvvtIf95sTZG08nhYJO1ak/s1600-h/IMG_0823.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="240" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446790008265749954" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVlo0u0148IzGAFGHf2pvwRdgF8_lFscvfFTfAiYXvE36OjCOdMZ3ZTTnAE3hQ5uVgpV7wkHQwH9UVuk_-aw3zkNWGSZ1vNBdgl5nGfsfI7QAdwo10_FVwvGvvtIf95sTZG08nhYJO1ak/s320/IMG_0823.jpg" style="display: block; height: 240px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crinoid (Photograph by Erin Looney)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0iVCtp37tRF6HayJQu14XzYgyIfDfKaCOlSHPZBmsVijXAn1C_E3iFJnH4exvllG7qihrvG6VmZDz6ZS0jDPA88rBNsWf3Mda_zK0Gf-RlTZDBJh8u9uAQDzZ8NAWVudEyV2Umdnk1x0/s1600-h/IMG_0793.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446790004167161266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0iVCtp37tRF6HayJQu14XzYgyIfDfKaCOlSHPZBmsVijXAn1C_E3iFJnH4exvllG7qihrvG6VmZDz6ZS0jDPA88rBNsWf3Mda_zK0Gf-RlTZDBJh8u9uAQDzZ8NAWVudEyV2Umdnk1x0/s320/IMG_0793.jpg" style="display: block; height: 240px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dardanus sp</i>., a type of Hemit Crab<br />(Photograph by Molly Timmers)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwLn5Vv9z7sAVBLcY9nUGK5PsmsZnGeBCsxVOj9lxuYZcKwnXKHRuYIcloJ69y8z35WQAKx0wBYA5CfaKxyOpmaqhg_2uqXQ0jfBCQCYEGL5Xcy6XsJ_mkakS6vh954lohaqhvntJlwos/s1600-h/IMG_0759.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446789994841188082" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwLn5Vv9z7sAVBLcY9nUGK5PsmsZnGeBCsxVOj9lxuYZcKwnXKHRuYIcloJ69y8z35WQAKx0wBYA5CfaKxyOpmaqhg_2uqXQ0jfBCQCYEGL5Xcy6XsJ_mkakS6vh954lohaqhvntJlwos/s320/IMG_0759.jpg" style="display: block; height: 240px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Gymnothorax sp.</i>, a species of Moray Eel<br />(Photograph by Erin Looney)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEginnR4FIf1V8mY1Afs63fVXRmdzvdF2-Y_-4G3CoFQqKTWF3XQUmY7exiwP3qDrNYkc0GspUhV1ncWNIfWvFNZ_y9W-ockeTtLayhk74IBfmIMo_1o7buCTnsUPisF8nWeSp5ykUlmaFE/s1600-h/Octopus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEginnR4FIf1V8mY1Afs63fVXRmdzvdF2-Y_-4G3CoFQqKTWF3XQUmY7exiwP3qDrNYkc0GspUhV1ncWNIfWvFNZ_y9W-ockeTtLayhk74IBfmIMo_1o7buCTnsUPisF8nWeSp5ykUlmaFE/s320/Octopus.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Octopus sp</i>. (Photograph by Molly Timmers)</td></tr>
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<br /></div>NOAA CREDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14258691950853083756noreply@blogger.com2Fagatogo, American Samoa-14.277109948933129 -170.68878650665283-14.282308448933129 -170.69608200665283 -14.271911448933128 -170.68149100665283tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544645999733904675.post-41753337545330747372010-03-07T11:15:00.000-10:002010-03-07T11:15:13.350-10:00Herbivores!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">by Kaylyn McCoy</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQa9tYRcrRQge9IDkJUKKCyAa0hcmyLUSTrelUf9wo7AyIPLDoKMWQ5yT0fMtTI5lxv9e0dBoSL8N8fRiHtyFCOgyz69jHxhJNh7ilEvkuEZa25khDoj_BeFo059HB7CC1DcqaLVgbrVg/s1600-h/Convict%20Tang.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQa9tYRcrRQge9IDkJUKKCyAa0hcmyLUSTrelUf9wo7AyIPLDoKMWQ5yT0fMtTI5lxv9e0dBoSL8N8fRiHtyFCOgyz69jHxhJNh7ilEvkuEZa25khDoj_BeFo059HB7CC1DcqaLVgbrVg/s400/Convict%20Tang.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Acanthuras triostegus</i>, Convict surgeonfish forming a feeding<br />
aggregation (photograph by Cristi Richards)</td></tr>
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As my dive buddy and I are ascending from a dive, she points behind me and puts her hand to her forehead, making the sign for “shark.” I whip around, full of anticipation and hoping to catch a glimpse of a 12 foot Tiger Shark (<i>Galeocerdo cuvier</i>), preferably swimming away. But, it’s just a three foot Black-Tip Reef Shark (<i>Carcharhinus melanopterus</i>), cruising around below us. Big fish like sharks and jacks are exciting and important, but we can’t forget about the little guys! Above is a picture of a school of Convict surgeonfish (<i>Acanthurus triostegus</i>). These fish are herbivorous, and feed on the algae that grows on the reef. Certain species like these Convict Tang form dense feeding schools possibly to overwhelm smaller, but incredibly aggressive damselfish defending their territories. Herbivorous fish play an important role in maintaining equilibrium in an ecosystem. Without these fish, certain species of algae can grow out of control, smothering the corals of the reef.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuq837SjI7d0Z9ef98WotRPCIb5DjacZ3XeNMpGVaM1b5v-GN3tvYkWDe1XeF_EnMcAoO8cRt8a34gro4rf-pHApr-E0I16FLSsxZMorcHEYioU_ch6tI0lpUzdagECkt5vCxvlTW6Lvs/s1600-h/Herbivores_Paula.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuq837SjI7d0Z9ef98WotRPCIb5DjacZ3XeNMpGVaM1b5v-GN3tvYkWDe1XeF_EnMcAoO8cRt8a34gro4rf-pHApr-E0I16FLSsxZMorcHEYioU_ch6tI0lpUzdagECkt5vCxvlTW6Lvs/s200/Herbivores_Paula.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Scarus xanthopleura</i>, Red Parrotfish<br />
(Photograph by Paula Ayotte)</td></tr>
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Another algae muncher that we see on the reef is the red parrotfish (<i>Scarus xanthopleura</i>). These fish have a specialized “beak” or dental plate used for scraping the algae off of the reef. Some parrotfish simply scrape the algae off the surface while other, usually larger species, bite of sizable chunks of the reef. Sometimes when we are counting fish, we can actually hear them feeding. Much of the sand you see on a coral reef may have passed through the belly of a parrotfish at one time or another.<br />
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Some areas of the Pacific are considering protecting specific herbivorous fish to help control invasive algae. So while it’s exciting to think about a shark snacking on a poor unsuspecting fish, don’t forget about the importance of the herbivores, the lawn mowers of the reef!<br />
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</div>NOAA CREDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14258691950853083756noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-544645999733904675.post-43235355700546307312010-03-05T11:42:00.002-10:002010-03-05T11:52:09.567-10:00Sighting the rare Guitarfish<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">by Marie Ferguson</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAJGd-4W_BMGdCLr6067sO2qBIMJisH1uTadzKThPTIQYJWAvgt0T6W4W5QPWQwq-hlUuRpp4OnaqbZJaiUKaW-qjof0WHX3taIc9YzP8yqeWx8M6Sm2SQ0kR31bxiO2rWZ6NWMzTOzeA/s1600-h/Shovelnose%20Guitarfish%20011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAJGd-4W_BMGdCLr6067sO2qBIMJisH1uTadzKThPTIQYJWAvgt0T6W4W5QPWQwq-hlUuRpp4OnaqbZJaiUKaW-qjof0WHX3taIc9YzP8yqeWx8M6Sm2SQ0kR31bxiO2rWZ6NWMzTOzeA/s400/Shovelnose%20Guitarfish%20011.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Shovelnose Guitarfish (photograph courtesy of www.Elasmodiver.com)</td></tr>
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A few days ago, while conducting a fish REA (Rapid Ecological Assessment) survey my dive buddy, Rusty Brainard, and I enjoyed a rare sighting of a <i><a href="http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?ID=5503">Rhynchobatus djiddensis</a></i>, Whitespotted Guitarfish, along the northwest side of Tutuila. The guitarfish was spotted while conducting a deep SPC (Stationary Point Count) survey, at approximately 70 feet. We had just completed our final SPC and were on our way to the surface for our safety stop when the 4 foot long guitarfish swam by us with a remora (‘shark sucker’) attached to its underside. Up until this point, a Whitespotted Guitarfish has never been observed or recorded by our research team in American Samoa or other locations during the many thousands of surveys we have conducted across the Pacific Islands over the past decade.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?ID=5503">Rhynchobatus djiddensis</a></span> belongs to the Rhinobatidae or Guitarfish family. It is unique in that it resembles a cross between a shark and a ray with the anterior or front half of its body looking like a ray while the posterior or rear half looking like a shark. Like other rays, guitarfish have small mouths with teeth that are flat and pavement-like and generally prey on crabs, cephalopods and small fishes. Most guitarfish species have been known to occur on continental shelves or insular shelves of large islands in roughly 2 to 50 meters of water depth. Due to the variation over its range, this type of guitarfish has been divided into approximately 5 to 6 species. Little is known about the biology of this species, however data collected has suggested that it does have a low fecundity and very slow growth rate.<br />
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According to the <a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/">ICUN Red List of Threatened Species</a>, the large size and nearshore areas that this species inhabits make it highly susceptible to gillnet and shallow-water trawl fishing. In several parts of the world, such as Tanzania, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?ID=5503">Rhynchobatus djiddensis</a></span> is being exploited mainly for its fins and is being commercially fished in bottom-set gillnets. Data recorded has also shown that this species is caught as bycatch in prawn trawls. Other documented areas where this species of guitarfish is either fished intentionally or as bycatch include shores off of Kenya, Mozambique, East Africa and the Middle East in the Western Indian Ocean, many areas in which policing and regulatory enforcement is often limited. The <a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/">ICUN Red List of Threatened Species</a> has evaluated this species as ‘vulnerable’ due to the “commercially high value and growing demand for its fins, restricted nearshore habitat as well as its limiting life history characteristics”.</div>
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If you are out diving or snorkeling and see this elegant and fascinating creature, then make sure to grab a photo and relish in the moment of a rare sighting!<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">For more pictures of Guitarfish, check out </span></span><a href="http://elasmodiver.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Elasmodiver.com</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> who kindly granted us use of the above photograph.</span></span></div>NOAA CREDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14258691950853083756noreply@blogger.com2